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How To Avoid ADA Lawsuits in Digital Education

How to Avoid ADA lawsuits
If you’re involved in digital education, one thing you can’t afford to overlook is accessibility. Students with disabilities deserve the same access to content, tools, and learning experiences as everyone else. But when accessibility isn’t built into your online platforms and materials, it can open the door to legal trouble. ADA lawsuits in education are becoming more common, and most of them stem from things that could have been avoided early on. In this guide, we’ll walk you through simple, practical ways to stay compliant and keep your digital learning environment open to all learners.

How the ADA Impacts Education

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) plays a major role in making education more inclusive. It ensures that students with disabilities get equal access to learning, whether they’re in a public college, university, or private educational institution.
Under Title II of the ADA, public schools, colleges, and universities are required to make all their programs, services, and even digital content accessible to everyone. In 2024, the Department of Justice introduced a new rule under Title II that focuses specifically on web and mobile accessibility. Public institutions now have a clear deadline. They must make their websites and apps accessible by either April 2026 or April 2027, depending on the size of the community they serve.
Private colleges and universities fall under Title III of the ADA, which covers places that are open to the public, like businesses. Courts have consistently ruled that if a school’s website or online platform is not accessible, it can be seen as a violation of Title III. This means that both public and private institutions can face legal consequences if they fail to meet ADA standards.

Why Do ADA Lawsuits Happen in Digital Education?

Often, it’s because schools overlook the accessibility of their online resources. Things like websites, learning platforms, or mobile apps might not be usable for students with disabilities. Missing captions, no screen reader compatibility, or lack of alternative text for images are common issues that lead to lawsuits. These gaps can prevent students from fully participating in the learning experience, which goes against ADA requirements.

Understanding the Legal Framework

To get the full picture, it’s important to know how other related laws work alongside the ADA:

  1. The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

    This law prohibits discrimination based on disability. It requires schools and colleges to give all students equal access to programs, content, and services, both in-person and online.

  2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

    This law is similar to the ADA but specifically applies to institutions that receive federal funding. It also requires them to make sure students with disabilities are not excluded or treated unfairly.

    Read more about Section 504 - https://www.continualengine.com/blog/504-compliance/

  3. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    While this one mainly applies to K–12 schools, it ensures that students with disabilities get a free and appropriate education. It also influences how schools create learning plans and accommodations for students who need them.

How Educational Institutions Can Avoid ADA Lawsuits

Here’s how institutions can avoid legal trouble while creating a more inclusive learning environment:

  1. Build an Accessibility Roadmap

    Start with a plan. Create a clear roadmap that outlines how your institution will identify, fix, and prevent accessibility barriers. This includes setting goals, assigning roles, and reviewing policies that impact learners with disabilities.

  2. Get Regular Audits Done

    Accessibility isn’t a one-time fix. Regular audits help you spot issues early and fix them before they turn into legal problems. Bring in third-party experts to test your website, course platforms, and digital content. This keeps you in check and shows you’re actively working toward compliance.

  3. Ensure Documents Are Accessible

    From lecture notes to course guides, every document shared with students should be accessible. That means making sure PDFs can be read by screen readers, using proper text formatting, and including image descriptions. Failing to do this can make learning harder for students with disabilities, and it can open the door to lawsuits.

  4. Train Faculty and Staff

    Even the best policies won’t work unless everyone is on board. Regular training helps your staff understand accessibility from both a practical and legal standpoint. When educators know how to design inclusive content, compliance becomes part of everyday teaching.

  5. Work with Accessibility Experts

    You don’t have to figure it out alone. Partnering with professionals who specialize in accessibility helps you implement smart, scalable solutions. They’ll guide you through tools, audits, and policies that meet legal standards and support all learners.

How PREP Helps Avoid ADA Lawsuits in Digital Education

If you’re looking for a reliable way to create accessible educational documents without overloading your team, PREP can help.
Continual Engine’s PREP platform makes it simple to create accessible educational documents at scale. It’s built to reduce the manual work, speed up the process, and ensure that every document meets accessibility standards. That means your institution stays compliant while saving time and effort.
PREP also helps you avoid the risk of ADA lawsuits by keeping your digital content aligned with legal accessibility requirements. It gives your faculty peace of mind and your students the inclusive learning experience they deserve. Whether you’re working with complex course materials or basic classroom handouts, PREP ensures they are usable by all learners right from the start.
If you’re serious about accessibility and want to avoid legal setbacks, PREP is the reliable, scalable solution you need.
Get started now

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  1. What is the ADA, and how does it apply to digital education?

    The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires schools and universities to make their digital content accessible. This includes websites, online courses, apps, and documents. Everything should work for users with disabilities, including those using screen readers or other assistive tech.

  2. What common accessibility issues lead to ADA lawsuits in digital education?

    Lawsuits usually come up when digital content leaves out students with disabilities. Some common problems include websites that don’t work with screen readers, videos that don’t have captions or transcripts, PDFs that can’t be read by assistive tech, and quizzes that some students can’t complete. Relying on third-party tools that aren’t accessible is also a big issue.

  3. Who is responsible for making sure a school or university follows digital accessibility rules?

    The responsibility falls on the institution, even if the problem comes from outside vendors or third-party content. To stay on top of things, many schools appoint accessibility officers or set up teams to keep track of issues, offer training, and respond to complaints.

  4. What should a school do if someone files an accessibility complaint or lawsuit?

    The best first step is to respond quickly and openly. Find out what the issue is, take action to fix it, and keep a record of everything you do. Communicate clearly with the people affected. Showing that you’re willing to make things right can go a long way in reducing legal risks.

  5. Which accessibility standards should schools and digital education providers follow?

    The most widely accepted set of rules is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level. Public institutions should also follow the latest ADA Title II updates, which outline what needs to be done for web and mobile content to be accessible.

  6. How often should schools or institutions run accessibility audits?

    At a minimum, once a year. But anytime you launch a new site, app, or major content update, an audit is a good idea. Ideally, accessibility should be part of your ongoing workflow so you can fix issues before they cause problems for learners.

Editors:

Debangku Sarma

Digital Marketing Associate
Continual Engine

Vijayshree Vethantham

Senior Vice-President, Growth & Strategy
Continual Engine US LLC

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