An expert roundup on what organizations should prioritize next.
Why Acting Now Still Matters
Most organizations are dealing with:
- Years of existing content and legacy systems
- Large volumes of documents, especially PDFs
- Decentralized ownership across teams
- Ongoing content growth that makes accessibility harder to keep up with
The Question We Asked
With the ADA Title II deadline fast approaching, what do you think organizations should prioritize? What is the roadmap you recommend?
The following insights reflect how accessibility leaders are thinking about priorities and next steps in light of the ADA Title II deadline.
1. Start with High-Impact Content, Then Embed Accessibility into Workflows
Founder, Design Lady
Adobe Community Expert and Publisher Author
Key Takeaways
- AI-driven content creation is outpacing accessibility validation, increasing legal risk
- Priority mapping is the most practical and immediate starting point
- High-traffic, public-facing content should be addressed first
- WCAG AA should serve as the baseline standard
- Long-term success depends on embedding accessibility into team workflows
- Accessibility must shift from an audit step to a built-in practice
Where Organizations Go Wrong
- Treating accessibility as a final QA step instead of integrating it early
- Failing to align content creation speed with accessibility validation
- Limiting ownership to compliance teams instead of embedding it across functions
2. Prioritize What Matters Most and Follow a Structured Accessibility Roadmap
Key Takeaways
- Focus on impact, defensibility, and sustained momentum rather than perfection
- Build a credible and documented path toward reducing accessibility barriers
- Prioritize services and documents most critical to residents
- Adopt WCAG 2.2 AA as the working standard
- Establish governance, training, and procurement alignment
- Treat accessibility as an ongoing journey, not a one-time milestone
Roadmap Breakdown
Phase 1: Process and Prioritize (0–60 days)
- Inventory key digital assets, including websites, apps, and PDFs
- Conduct expert audits
- Rank issues based on user impact and legal exposure
Phase 2: Remediate and Stabilize (2–6 months)
- Fix critical accessibility blockers
- Remediate high-value and high-usage PDFs
- Align to WCAG 2.2 AA standards
Phase 3: Build the Program (6–18 months)
- Implement governance structures and workflows
- Roll out role-based training
- Integrate accessibility into procurement
- Deploy monitoring platforms
Phase 4: Sustain and Improve (Ongoing)
- Continuously monitor accessibility performance
- Establish user feedback loops
- Progress toward accessibility by default
3. Focus on Real Barriers First, Then Build Accessibility into System
With the ADA Title II deadline approaching, organizations should focus on quickly reducing real barriers while laying the foundations for a sustainable accessibility program.
The first step is establishing a clear baseline. Conduct a structured accessibility audit aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA that combines automated scanning, manual testing, and review of critical user journeys. The objective is not a long report. The objective is to identify the barriers that prevent people from completing essential tasks.
Next, prioritize high-impact remediation. Focus on the issues that consistently block usability and create legal exposure, such as color contrast failures, inaccessible forms, missing alternative text, keyboard navigation gaps, and incorrect use of ARIA. Addressing these common issues often resolves a significant portion of real accessibility barriers.
At the same time, organizations need to ensure accessibility becomes part of how products are built in the future. This means integrating accessibility into design systems, engineering workflows, and CI/CD pipelines so new barriers are not introduced as systems evolve.
Finally, establish clear governance and accountability. Assign ownership, train teams, publish an updated accessibility statement, and incorporate testing with people with disabilities to validate real user experiences.
The organizations that succeed will not treat Title II as a deadline to survive. They will use this moment to build accessibility into the infrastructure of their digital services.
Key Takeaways
- Establish a clear accessibility baseline through structured audits
- Focus on real user barriers rather than producing lengthy reports
- Prioritize high-impact issues that block usability and increase legal risk
- Integrate accessibility into design and development workflows
- Build governance through ownership, training, and accountability
- Build accessibility into the infrastructure of digital services
Must-Do Actions
- Conduct a WCAG 2.1 AA-aligned audit combining automated and manual testing
- Identify and address barriers in critical user journeys first
- Fix common blockers such as contrast issues, forms, alt text, and keyboard navigation
- Integrate accessibility into design systems and CI/CD pipelines
- Assign ownership and implement governance structures
- Validate improvements through testing with people with disabilities
4. Start Now with Practical Actions That Reduce Risk and Build Momentum
Top priorities now
- Publish a roadmap.
- Inventory digital services and documents.
- Engage vendors.
- Prioritize high-impact items.
- Start testing key applications.
- Scan the main website.
- Triage PDFs.
- Fix the process for new content.
- Add accessibility to procurement.
- Train staff.
Detailed blogpost here.
Key Takeaways
- Organizations can begin without having complete answers in place
- Immediate focus should be on reducing risk and improving access
- Building momentum is critical at this stage
- Structured prioritization enables steady progress
- Accessibility efforts should include vendors, content, and internal teams
5. Focus on Visibility, Quick Wins, and Building for Scale
Director of Client Success &
Growth, Continual Engine
Key Takeaways
- Full manual remediation before the deadline is not realistic for most institutions
- Speed combined with structure is essential for meaningful progress
- Visibility into risk, usage, and content gaps is the starting point
- Automation helps bring large volumes of content to a baseline level of accessibility
- Sustainable workflows and training are critical for long-term success
- Accessibility requires continuous improvement, not one-time fixes
Implementation Model
Step 1: Audit and Visibility
- Identify current accessibility gaps
- Map high-risk and high-traffic content
Step 2: Quick Wins at Scale
- Use automation to remediate large volumes of PDFs
- Improve baseline accessibility efficiently
Step 4: Build Sustainable Workflows
- Train teams and faculty
- Establish clear content processes
- Integrate accessibility into creation workflows
Step 3: Prioritization
- Focus on high-impact content such as courses and student-facing materials
- Address frequently accessed documents first
Step 5: Continuous Improvement
- Monitor and refine accessibility efforts
- Build long-term systems rather than short-term fixes
A Practical Way to Move Forward: Where Experts Align
Start with visibility
Understand what content exists, where the risks are, and what people rely on most. Without this, prioritization becomes guesswork.
Focus on what matters first
High-impact, high-usage content should take priority, especially where access to services is involved. Not everything needs to be addressed at once.
Address real barriers
Issues that prevent users from completing tasks should come before surface-level improvements. Usability needs to lead.
Plan for volume and scale
Large volumes of documents and legacy content require approaches that balance speed with consistency. This becomes especially important when working toward baseline accessibility across systems.
Build structure early
Clear ownership, defined workflows, and alignment across teams help prevent accessibility from becoming a recurring issue.
Make it continuous
Accessibility does not end with remediation. As content grows and systems evolve, it requires ongoing attention and monitoring.
