The Legal Landscape: Is your institution prepared to meet the current DOJ and OCR requirements for proactive digital accessibility?
Event Details:
Session Description:
In light of the Department of Justice and Office of Civil Right’s recent Dear Colleague Letter regarding current expectations for proactive online and digital accessibility and the proposed changes to rule-making at the Federal level, institutions of higher education now find themselves in uncharted waters. While it has been made clear that proactive digital accessibility is a legal expectation, the sheer volume of digital materials (websites, documents, online classes, forms, videos, etc.) coupled with the rising threat of being found in violation of civil rights laws that protect people with disabilities is daunting.
Join Dr. Ann Knettler, Vice President of Educational Leadership for AbleDocs and digital accessibility strategist, as she provides essential actions and takeaways that will protect the Civil Rights of individuals with disabilities, significantly reduce legal risk, limit liability, and provide a strategic approach to access that can be tailored to an institution’s individual needs.
About the Speakers:
Ann currently serves as the Vice President of Educational Leadership for AbleDocs, the largest digital accessibility company in the world. An accessibility strategist with over 16 years of experience as an ADA and 504 Compliance Officer and Director of Disability Resources offices, Ann is a sought-after speaker, educator, and consultant.
As a member of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), Ann currently represents the Association as a member of the Council of Representatives for the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) where she has co-authored and updated policy and standards for the entire field of higher education and currently sits on their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
A published researcher, Ann regularly presents and consults globally on topics such as the depth and breadth of digital accessibility, disability rights, assessment and the use of data as an advocacy tool, disability policy and policy reform, strategic planning for organization-wide access, creating and using policy and accessibility standards, program review, ableism, and the social justice model of disability.
Ann is an active faculty member in the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Master of Public Administration Programs at Delaware State University. She received a Masters of Arts in Counseling in Higher Education with an emphasis in Mental Health from the University of Delaware and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Delaware State University. Her dissertation focuses on the lived experiences of ableism and able-body privilege by students with disabilities in higher education and the impact that experience has on their receipt of an accessible and equitable education.