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Action Required: Upcoming Federal Accessibility Requirements for Websites
Dear stonybrook.edu Website Editors,
As you may have heard, new federal accessibility guidelines for public-facing websites
have been finalized by the Department of Justice. Our university websites must comply
with these requirements by April 24, 2026. You can read the official fact sheet here: ADA Web Rule Fact Sheet (March 2024).
This is a federal mandate, and noncompliance could expose the university to penalties
or legal consequences. But more importantly, accessibility ensures that everyone,
including people with disabilities, can access our content equally and effectively.
To help meet these requirements, the team in Marketing & Communications (MARCOM) is developing fully accessible web templates for the Modern Campus CMS that will
be available by February 2026. While MARCOM will provide guidance and support, it’s important to understand that
each department will be responsible for updating its own site and ensuring its content
meets accessibility standards.
What to Expect
Fall 2025: A Fresh Start for Content
A lot has changed on the web since our current templates were created over a decade
ago, and some pages are just as old. This is the ideal time to start from scratch
rather than copy content over without review. We strongly recommend starting now to:
- Perform a full audit of your existing site
- Identify information worth carrying forward
- Rewrite or reorganize that content to be accurate, modern, and user-friendly
Now is the perfect time to remove old archived content (news, events, announcements,
etc.). This will reduce your future workload and avoid having to update rarely used
pages to meet federal standards.
February 2026: Accessible Templates Available
The new university-wide templates will meet accessibility standards out of the box.
They will include updated components and snippets to help you modernize and structure
your pages effectively. There may not be a 1:1 match from current snippets and components
to new ones, but there will be a variety of options available that your content can
be adapted to fit into. Additional communication will follow as they approach the
launch of the updated templates.
Content Still Matters
Even with an accessible template, your site’s accessibility score depends on your
content. Proper spelling, headings, image alt text, document tags, and page structure
are required. Starting fresh gives you the best chance to meet both accessibility
and usability goals from the start.
No Automatic Migration
Because of the significant changes required, the transition to the new template cannot
be automated. Departments will need to manually rebuild their sites once the templates
are available. This is your opportunity to restructure, streamline, and create a better
experience for your audience.
Consider Extra Help
If your site is large or complex, you may want to consider hiring a student or freelance
assistant during Spring 2026 to help with the transition.
Accessibility Means Consistency
After your site meets WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards, that standard must be maintained.
Departments will need to keep up with standards when creating new pages and editing
old pages. We use Silktide to scan and score websites to make sure they are WCAG 2.2
AA compliant. You can sign up for a Silktide account or request a report here.
The MARCOM team will hold training webinars to walk web editors through setting up
their new sites as we get closer to the new templates being available. The Modern
Campus CMS support site will also be updated with new instructions and a FAQ page
before February. If you have any questions related to the upcoming templates and website
refresh that you would like to see answered in the FAQ, please reply to this email
with those questions.
The Office of Equity and Access (oea@stonybrook.edu) is available to help answer questions about the legal guidelines and accessibility
requirements.
We understand this is a significant undertaking, and we’re committed to supporting
you through it. More information, timelines, and training resources will follow in
the coming months. In the meantime, we encourage you to begin reviewing your content
and preparing for the upcoming changes.
Sincerely,
Susan Foley
Interim Vice President
Marketing and Communications
Interim Vice President
Marketing and Communications
Marjolie Leonard
Assistant Vice President, Title IX & ADA Coordinator
Office of Equity and Access (OEA)
Assistant Vice President, Title IX & ADA Coordinator
Office of Equity and Access (OEA)