Trump administration delays rule aimed at improving disability access in schools

Education Trump administration delays rule aimed at improving disability access in schools April 22, 20265:00 AM ET Jonaki Mehta Miranda Lacy and Harold Rogers walk around the campus of West Virginia State University, where both completed undergraduate degrees. They consider the campus a second home because staff there worked hard to make sure their education was accessible. Now, they're in a graduate program that they say has failed to make their learning materials accessible and have filed a lawsuit. Kristian Thacker for NPR hide caption toggle caption Kristian Thacker for NPR Public colleges, K-12 schools, local governments and other public institutions will have an extra year to make their digital materials fully accessible for people with disabilities, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Many institutions had been racing, for at least two years, toward a deadline that was originally set for this Friday to comply with new federal accessibility guidelines updating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It was a day disability rights advocates had been eagerly awaiting. But just four days ahead of the deadline, the Justice Department overrode the original rule and said public entities serving 50,000 or more people will now have until April 26, 2027. Smaller public institutions will have until that date in 2028. Sponsor Message The Justice Department "overestimated the capabilities (whether staffing or technology) of covered entities to comply with the rule in the time frames provided," the DOJ said in its interim final rule. "We are outraged," said Corbb O'Connor, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. The national organization, along with other disability rights organizations, has condemned the delay. "Yet again, the blind have been told to wait to live on terms of equality," O'Connor said. He pointed out that despite the rule being recent, international standards for web accessibility have existed since 1999. The Association...