Watching TV or streaming movies with closed captioning is increasingly popular among Americans, including those with no hearing impairment. Adding captions to the videos we share with students adheres to solid universal design principles and helps ensure compliance with the ADA regulations that will be in effect as of April 2026.

Editor’s note: In this article, Director of Disability Services Jen Forni reviews the changes in federal regulations for ADA compliance, addressing what the regulations are, why they are needed and who is responsible for compliance. In the companion article, Center for Teaching and Learning staff Alexandra Belanich and Robin Hill share resources to help colleagues learn how to ensure all of their materials are ADA compliant before the April 2026 deadline.

How many of us have gotten in the habit of watching TV or streaming movies with closed captions on? It might be because of declining hearing or because we’re in a space with a lot of ambient noise but in recent years multiple polls, such as from CBS News and Associated Press, have documented an increasing number of everyday Americans who are using closed captions.

This is one example of the principle of universal design. As the federal government explains, “Accessibility is about more than compliance with standards. It’s about developing solutions to meet the needs of all users, with and without disabilities. …Universal design is a concept in which products and environments are designed to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible.” Thus, for example, the availability of closed captions at the click of a button—originally developed to help the hearing impaired—proves helpful to millions of Americans, young and old, with and without any kind of hearing impairment.

This foundational principle is what should guide SCCC faculty and staff as they work to ensure adherence to the new accessibility regulations before April 24, 2026.

What are the new regulations and where are they coming from?

There are multiple regulations mandating that faculty and staff ensure all of their digital and electronic content is fully accessible.

1. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Web Accessibility Regulations
2. Health and Human Services (HHS) Web Accessibility Requirements
3. NYS Executive Law Section 170-F
4. SUNY Policy

First, the U.S. Department of Justice is mandating for Title II of the ADA that by April 24, 2026, all web content and mobile applications are WCAG 2.1 A Level AA compliant. This includes all public-facing and internal digital resources, although exceptions are allowed for archived web content, preexisting conventional electronic documents, individual password-protected documents, third party content and preexisting social media posts. Some allowances will be made when equivalent access is enabled.

Second, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Section 504 mandates that all SUNY campuses receiving funding from that agency must conform all web content, mobile applications and kiosks to WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA by May 11, 2026.

Third, there’s New York State law. NYS Executive Law Section 170-F has been in effect since 2023 and echoes the federal regulations outlined above in application to the college’s relationships with contractors who provide web services as part of that work; those contractors are responsible for ensuring the website complies with the most recent version of WCAG. 

Finally, to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, SUNY has mandated, as noted in this 2019 SUNY Board of Trustees policy, that all 64 campuses achieve electronic and information technology (EIT) accessibility:

“EIT accessibility” is the practice of sustaining electronic and information technology environments that enable individuals to acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy services regardless of whether or not they have a disability. Examples include closed captions on videos, text descriptions for website images (alt text), and text-renderable (searchable) documents.

In July, the SUNY Office of General Counsel issued an 11-page memo of what needs to happen as well as timelines. There are also several Middle States standards about accessibility and inclusivity that the college must document adherence to, and we are right in the middle of a Middle States accreditation effort.

What does this mean for faculty and staff?

As seen above, some of these documents refer to “web accessibility regulations,” but “web” is misleading because they are saying that all digital content and electronic documents need to be accessible.

This means all pages within and materials uploaded into Brightspace or emailed to students, including fliers that we’re posting there and our feedback on student work. This also includes handouts in class; if you hand out a physical copy it still needs to be able to be scanned and made accessible, e.g., if the student uses an app to scan it or brings it to our office.

The most common file types that will need attention are pdfs, PowerPoints files, and Word and Excel documents but, again, every piece of digital content must be fully accessible.

Why should faculty and staff do this work? Isn’t this the job of Disability Services?

Sometimes colleagues question why they have to deal with making sure their digital and electronic documents are accessible. Sometimes we hear “isn’t this is your job in Disability Services anyway?” and sometimes we hear “but there aren’t any students with disabilities in my class!”

Not only is there insufficient staff in Disability Services to review all digital content at the college for compliance—think about what a massive undertaking that would be, plus the violations of faculty and student privacy in their Brightspace class websites and other electronic spaces—it is literally not our role. In their documentation, SUNY has made clear that EIT accessibility is the responsibility of all administrators, faculty and staff.

Also, faculty and staff should never assume that students don’t need accessible and inclusive materials simply because no student in a class has brought you documentation from our office. We estimate that about 7 to 8% of the SCCC student population is registered with Disability Services, and across SUNY it’s around 10%. However, we also understand that the percentage of students who would benefit from our services is likely higher, but students don’t register because they either aren’t aware or simply don’t take the steps to work with our office.

Unlike K-12 students who have individualized educational plans (IEPs), in college students can choose whether or not to register with the Office of Disability Services. Sometimes they aren’t aware that they would qualify for accommodations and sometimes they feel they do not need accommodations, particularly if they are taking online courses. In addition, we have a growing number of older students coming back through SUNY Reconnect, and they may not even know whether they are eligible or recall whether they had an IEP in high school. So by ensuring that all digital and electronic materials are accessible in keeping with universal design, that makes things easier for everybody at SCCC.

Finally, the college can be sued if not in compliance. Again, it’s not just federal regulations but also New York State human rights laws. For years, there has been a push for this—I’ve been in multiple webinars with lawyers nationally fighting for this level of compliance—so there might be students actively looking and testing for accessibility.

So keep in mind that it’s not only the right thing to do, it is also the legal thing to do.