Scheduled at 4:30 PM in Denver 1-3 on Thursday, November 19.
#43410Speaker(s)
- Judith Risch, Principal, Judith Risch Advisory Services LLC
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Interactive/Discussion
- Expertise Level: All Levels
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
Digital accessibility regulations are changing quickly. The DOJ announced changes to ADA Title II in April 2026. More changes may come before November. Some come through formal rulemaking. Some come through litigation. Some come through guidance documents. Each process works differently and binds different parties. This session walks through what has changed and how those changes were made. Practitioners leave able to read future changes with a clearer understanding of what actually applies.
Abstract
Digital accessibility regulations are not standing still. The DOJ announced changes to ADA Title II in April 2026. By the time this conference meets in November, more will likely have happened. New litigation may produce results. Draft rules may appear. HHS Section 504 regulations may shift. State laws may move. Federal enforcement priorities may change with the political calendar.
This session takes stock of where digital accessibility regulation stands at the time of the conference. It also takes a step back to look at how regulations actually change. That second piece matters. Practitioners often hear about a change without learning how it was made. The session walks through the major regulatory threads active at the time of the conference. For each thread, we ask the same questions. What happened? What process produced it? Whose voice at the table was listen to? When does it take effect? What does it mean for higher education institutions? What is the next likely move? What steps if any can you take to plan for the unknown.
By the end, attendees should be able to read regulatory news more clearly. They should know what questions to ask. They should know which changes require immediate response and which do not.
Keypoints
- Digital accessibility regulations are changing through several different processes at once.
- Knowing how a regulation was made tells you who is bound by it and how durable it is.
- Staying up to date on the regulatory framework is critical.
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Accessibility and Accommodation in the Current Political/Legal Environment, Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Judith Risch
Judy is one of the nation’s foremost experts on digital accessibility. She is a twenty-year veteran of the Office of Civil Rights, including five years as Project Director of the National Digital Accessibility Task Force, where she oversaw Section 504 and ADA Title II enforcement across educational institutions and contributed to the 2024 DOJ ADA Title II digital accessibility regulation.