CIT Updates

New Title II regulations begin on April 24, 2026

In April of 2026, updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will take effect,
reaffirming that the digital materials used for teaching, such as LMS content like Word
documents, PDFs, and media, must be accessible to people with disabilities. For instructors, this means course content should not create barriers to student access. Accessibility is about making reasonable, thoughtful improvements so all students can equitably engage with course materials.

Using Ally to Support Accessible Course Content: to help with this work, Ally is available
directly within Blackboard. Ally supports faculty by:

Identifying accessibility issues and why they matter
Providing clear, step-by-step guidance to fix issues
Offering a course-level accessibility overview to prioritize your efforts

Ally also includes features that can save significant time when addressing common issues,
especially PDFs.

PDF Quick Fixes allow you to address 3 common accessibility problems in PDFs: scanned
PDFs, missing title, and missing language set directly in Ally.
The AI Alt Text Assistant can help generate suggested alternative text for images that
have been uploaded as a standalone file (e.g. jpeg), or those embedded in WYSIWYG
content. Instructors can edit the suggested alternative text to ensure appropriate
context.

You can use your Course Accessibility Report to identify content items that can be addressed
using the PDF Quick Fixes and AI Alt Text Assistant.

Ally does not change your content automatically, rather, it supports you in making informed,
human-centered improvements while respecting your subject-mater expertise. Even small
changes can make a meaningful difference for students, and many accessibility improvements
benefit all learners.

Knowledge base support articles:

For additional support, please submit a work order.