USM, UMD to Host Title II Readiness Conference

The University System of Maryland and the University of Maryland will host a conference on Friday on how to ensure compliance with the U.S. Department of Justice’s requirement that state and local governments make their websites and mobile apps accessible to people with disabilities by April 2026.

Invited representatives from public universities and state and local governments will lead the charge at their respective institutions to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule. Title II of the ADA relates to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in state and local government services.

Websites and mobile apps that are not accessible can make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to access services that are quickly and easily available to other members of the public online, according to the ADA’s website. For example, a student who is blind and uses a screen reader to navigate the web may not be able to access important content (say, a flowchart or rubric) on a university website if it is shared only in an image or PDF that a screen reader can’t process. By making websites and mobile apps accessible, universities can ensure that people with disabilities are able to fully participate.

Featured speakers at Friday’s event on the UMD campus include Judy Risch, Title IX and equity access services special advisor at Grand River Solutions; Eve Hill, a partner at Brown Goldstein & Levy, who will give a keynote about higher education and digital accessibility; and a panel of UMD digital accessibility experts on implementing accessibility measures amid uncertainty.

Breakout sessions will address accessibility on social media, in learning environments, in procurement processes and more.