Last updated: April 20, 2026
About This Update
The DOJ has extended the ADA Title II web accessibility compliance deadline. For state and local government entities serving populations of 50,000 or more, the new deadline is April 26, 2027 (extended from April 24, 2026). Smaller entities and special district governments have until April 26, 2028. This article summarizes the platform-level accessibility work Element451 has completed and where we're headed—and what your institution is responsible for on your own content.
📌 Note: Element451 provides the platform foundation and tools to support accessible experiences. Ensuring your institution's published content meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards is your team's responsibility. Element451 does not audit institution-created content. Our testing covers the platform—not the content generated using our tools.
What Element451 Has Improved
Over the past year, we've completed three full accessibility audit phases across all of our web apps and are in the final stretch of final phase. Web apps included student/public facing parts of our platform including Pages, Forms, Application Sties, Appointment Booking Sites, Event Sites, Element Messenger and StudentHub.
Work has focused on five areas:
Keyboard and focus navigation: All web apps support full keyboard navigation, including correct tab order, visible focus indicators, and skip navigation links.
Screen reader support: Dynamic content (agent messages, form errors, filter results, calendar updates) announces to screen readers via ARIA live regions. Semantic structure, such as landmark regions, heading hierarchy, button and link names, has been validated across all modules.
Color contrast: Default UI components meet WCAG AA contrast requirements. Brand and page color configurations now include additional controls to help institutions avoid non-compliant combinations.
Forms and interactive components: Required field indicators, form labels, and input autocomplete behavior are properly communicated to assistive technology across Forms, Application Sites, and Appointment Booking.
Media and content: Alt text set in the Media Manager is carried forward automatically when images are inserted into Pages, Events, App Sites, and Campaigns. New alt text fields have been added to content blocks that previously had none.
What Your Institution Is Responsible For
Element451 provides the platform capabilities to support accessible experiences. The content your team creates and publishes is yours to audit and maintain.
Your institution owns:
Alt text on images you upload or embed — the media manager carries alt text forward, but you must set it accurately at the source
Heading structure in pages, emails, and communications you author — use heading levels sequentially (H1 → H2 → H3); never skip levels
Link text — write descriptive labels ("Learn more about financial aid"), not "click here"
Brand colors — if your primary or secondary colors fail contrast requirements against white or dark backgrounds, any surface using those colors will have contrast failures
Custom HTML added via code blocks or embed fields
Third-party content embedded from external tools
How to audit your content: Consider using tools like Axe DevTools, WAVE, or Lighthouse to scan pages you manage. We also recommend partnering with your IT department, accessibility, or general counsel offices—they can help with testing, interpreting results, prioritizing remediation, and advising on your institution's specific compliance obligations.
⚠️ Important: Element451 does not audit institution-created content. Our testing covers the platform—not the content within it.
Ongoing Work
A final accessibility pass is in progress and fixes continue to ship. The deadline extension does not affect our timeline—platform-level WCAG 2.1 AA work on web apps surfaces is expected to be complete soon.
For platform-level issues, submit a report to live support or your account manager with the WCAG criterion, URL, and steps to reproduce. For questions about your institution's compliance posture, work with your institution's legal counsel or accessibility office.
Additional Resources