About the DOJ Rule and the University Digital Accessibility Initiative
The Department of Justice (DOJ) passed a new digital accessibility rule for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring public universities’ digital content to be accessible.
The UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Initiative (DAI) establishes a sustainable university infrastructure for content creators within each school, college and division to create, develop and procure digital tools and electronic resources that are accessible, as required under the new federal rule. The new federal rule goes into effect on April 24, 2026, and the DAI initiative covers work that will be completed in preparation for the spring 2026 term and through December 30, 2026.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines at level 2.1 AA (WCAG) is the technical standard used to make digital content accessible. Compliance with WCAG generally means disabled individuals, with or without the use of their assistive technology, can seamlessly use technology. The new rule ensures disabled individuals do not experience discrimination by being able to use the same technology as people without disabilities.
- Learn about the DOJ Digital Accessibility Rule
- UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Initiative (DAI)
- UW-Madison Digital Accessibility FAQ
List of Campus Resources & Tools
- UW-Madison Make it Accessible Checklist and Tools for Web, Media, Documents, PDFs, and Video
- UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Hub
- UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Overview & Fundamentals
- Get Accessibility Consultation from UW-Madison Center for User Experience
- CALS Guide to Creating Accessible Content in WordPress