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Title II is coming: Are you ready?

by Elizabeth Parsons, IT Services • Published •
A person wearing a Miami shirt using a LiveScribe smartpen

Title II is coming: Are you ready?

by Elizabeth Parsons, IT Services • Published •

Updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will go into effect April 24, 2026, and Miami is committed to making sure we are compliant with the new (albeit more strict) guidelines.

Read on for more information about how we are supporting faculty and staff as they make their online content more accessible for the whole Miami community.

What does the Title II update mean for Miami?

The update to Title II means that all online and digital services and content created by “public entities” (hint: that’s us!) for educational and informative consumption must be accessible for people with disabilities. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Websites (e.g., the main university website and any individual class websites)
  • Canvas courses
  • Emails
  • Presentations
  • Other miscellaneous reading material (including PDFs)

“Accessible for people with disabilities” generally refers to how the content is consumed by an end-user. For instance, people with low vision or who are blind often use screen reader technologies. People with low hearing or who are deaf rely on video captions. It’s important for us to make sure everyone can access course content, presentations, emails, and more—and that means making things accessible.

The good news is: Miami has been making progress in digital accessibility for over 10 years. We’re in a good spot! There are already processes in place to support faculty and staff in making Miami a more accessible place.

How can we help?

There are always improvements to be made, however, and we want to empower faculty and staff to ensure the compliance of their course content.

Drop in for training!

As we get closer to the April deadline, the AccessMU Center is hosting several weeks of drop-in training sessions (see the sidebar for links). 

The helpful training is full of tidbits to help faculty and staff create more accessible content from the beginning of course design—because it’s always easier to build a course with accessibility in mind from the ground up than retrofit later (though both are valid avenues to achieve compliance). You don’t have to register for these sessions—just drop in at the Zoom link listed in the university events in the sidebar.

In addition, you can stop by the AccessMU Center in Shriver 316 for hands-on help! Bring your documents, presentations, and Canvas classes to get help with remediating the content.

Individual sessions more your speed?

The folks in the AccessMU Center are also available to set up individual sessions or group trainings. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, please fill out the request form: MiamiOH.edu/ATRequest.

More to come!

At the end of the day, achieving compliance for Title II is simply the right thing to do—so that all students, faculty, and staff have an equitable opportunity to expand their knowledge and participate in our community. Keep an eye out for further information about Title II and Miami’s responsibility to our constituents as we know more!

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