Web (In)Accessible: Supporting Access to Texas Higher Education for Students with Disabilities

Abstract

Beginning January 18, 2018, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act required all U.S. postsecondary institutions receiving Title IV funds to publish accessible websites, adherent to Level AA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. This case study examines the web accessibility of all postsecondary institutions in Texas immediately after the January 18, 2018 deadline. Findings suggest the average institutional website read at the 11th-grade English comprehension level, public institutions published more readable websites than private peers, 96% of the websites provided English-only content, and 0% of institutions were entirely Level AA web accessible by the January 18th deadline. This study concludes by providing suggestions for future research and offering practitioners simple, cost effective, and practical solutions to render online content accessible, equitable, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant for a wide audience.

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