Schools weren’t ready. The deadline arrived with a clock ticking down, loud and unkind. They were simply unprepared.
For decades, federal disability law said local governments had to make their websites work for everyone. Two years ago, the Biden administration turned that vague idea into a rule. The Department of Justice issued a “final rule” spelling out how to measure accessibility. It leaned on existing standards. It set dates. Hard dates.
Populations over 50,0 remote learning, remote work, the whole shebang made this look even more necessary. Families shouldn’t have to fight for basic entry to a classroom. That burden shifts to the school. To the vendor. To the system.
Experts cheered it. A milestone, really.
But then Monday came.
The DOJ published an “interim final rule”. It postpones everything. Again. The new deadline is next year.
Advocates saw this coming. Meetings had been happening behind the scenes. Testimony showed governments couldn’t hit those marks. EdSurge covered the leaks, the doubts, the logistical nightmare waiting to unfold.
The Justice Department’s notice calls it about understanding the substance of the rule.
“ensure that covered entities better understand… to achieve compliance”
Sound noble? Maybe. But look around.
The cultural mood has shifted. Tech fatigue is real. Skepticism runs high in schools that just got through five years of chaos. Then came the administration change. Trump’s team. Grants shredded. Staff fired. Priorities pivoting fast.
Can a student with disabilities trust the feds now? Probably not. A watchdog noted that 90% of civil rights complaints were dismissed recently. That’s a stat that hurts.
Lawsuits surged. Over 3,000 last year.
Pressure remains. Even without a date stamp, schools need to move. Sambhavi Chandrashecar at D2L argues the extension prevents a bad cycle. The endless audit-remediate-fix-repeat loop. Invest now. Fix procurement. Train the creators. Build tools that default to access.
Did you see that eyeglasses company lawsuit? A U.S. district court dismissed it. Why? The company proved it had an ongoing program. Paper trail. Consistency. It works.
Most schools started late, says Glenda Sims from Deque. Using this year as an excuse to pause? Dangerous. If they wait, they fall farther behind.
Treat access like security. Treat it like privacy. Don’t bolt it on at the end. Build it in.
What happens when next year arrives?
No one knows. But the clock is ticking again.
