On April 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule extending the compliance deadline for the 2024 ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility regulations. Most public entities, including public colleges and universities, now have until April 2027 to bring their digital properties into full compliance. The original deadline, which would have taken effect on April 24, 2026, is no longer in force.
At UAMS, this news changes the calendar. It does not change the work.
What the rule does and does not say
The Title II rule itself remains intact. The DOJ has not revised the technical standard, narrowed the scope, or softened the requirements. The rule still requires that every public-facing web page and mobile application operated by a covered public entity conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium.
The practical obligations have not changed either. Every PDF served to the public must be accessible to a screen reader. Every video must carry captions and audio descriptions. Every image must have appropriate alternative text. Every audio clip must be paired with a transcript. Every third-party platform integrated into a site must meet the same standard.
In its interim rule, the DOJ cited two reasons for the extension: the administrative and technical burden reported by covered entities, and the value of giving institutions time to achieve genuine compliance rather than diverting effort to litigation defenses.
Why this does not change the UAMS plan
The accessibility work underway across the UAMS digital ecosystem was never primarily motivated by an April 24 deadline. It was motivated by the people who use our websites and mobile applications every day.
When a patient tries to find a clinic location through voice search or an AI assistant, the schema data we cultivate determines whether they can. When a medical student reviews a curriculum PDF, the document’s underlying tag structure determines whether assistive technology can read it in the right order. When a research participant navigates a consent page using keyboard-only input, the focus order and ARIA labeling on that form determine whether they can complete the task without calling someone for help. None of that work becomes less important because the federal deadline moved by 12 months.
Accessibility is the standard of care for public digital communication. That was true before the 2024 Title II update, it remains true today, and it will remain true when the new deadline arrives in April 2027.
What continues without pause
UAMS Web Services, in partnership with accessibility stakeholders across the institution, will continue the work already in motion. That includes the ongoing WCAG 2.1 Level AA audit and remediation program covering UAMS public-facing web properties, including the flagship uams.edu and uamshealth.com domains and the specialized subdomains for our colleges and institutes. It includes PDF remediation and the retirement of non-accessible legacy documents from public distribution. It includes accessibility review as part of every new web project and every new content management workflow. It includes ongoing support for content editors across the institution through the Web Services knowledge base and direct assistance from our team, so that accessibility is built into content at the point of creation rather than retrofitted later. When Web Services is engaged in third-party platform procurement, it also includes accessibility evaluation of the vendor and their platform.
The work is steady. It is visible in our audit records and in the measurable improvements we see on the properties we have already remediated.
Guidance for the UAMS community
If you are a content owner or website editor at UAMS, the practical guidance is straightforward. Keep doing the work. Do not interpret the extension as permission to slow down. New content should continue to be created accessibly. Existing issues that have been identified should continue to be remediated on the schedule already agreed to with Web Services. Requests that would publish inaccessible content, even temporarily, should still come through the standard accessibility review process.
If you are procuring a third-party platform, the guidance is likewise unchanged. Request a current Accessibility Conformance Report using the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) 2.5 format from the vendor, and loop in Web Services to evaluate it. Assume that every platform connected to our public web presence must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
If you maintain a departmental page and you have questions about accessibility, reach out to UAMS Web Services using the form below. Questions are always welcome, and getting accessibility right is easier with help than without it.
The longer view
Federal compliance dates come and go. Rulemaking processes generate drafts, revisions, extensions, and occasional reversals. The thing that remains constant is the population of people for whom an inaccessible website is the difference between independent access to information and no access at all.
UAMS serves the entire state of Arkansas. Our patients, students, faculty, staff, research participants, and community members include a significant number of people who depend on accessible digital communication to engage with the institution. That is who the work is for.
The deadline moved. The mission did not.
Use the form below for questions about UAMS web accessibility, ongoing remediation, or accessibility review for new projects.