Website accessibility services for schools
Our website accessibility services help charter, private, public and trade schools make their websites usable by every student, parent and staff member. We audit your site against WCAG, fix the barriers we find and keep supporting you as your content changes, so your school’s website can meet WCAG and ADA standards.
- Full accessibility audit
- Remediation of the issues found
- Ongoing support as your site grows
- A dedicated accessibility consultant
ADA compliant school website services, from audit to upkeep
We combine a full WCAG audit, remediation of the issues we find and ongoing support, so accessibility becomes part of how your school’s website is maintained, not a one-off project.
The goal is simple: students, parents and staff with disabilities can use your content without barriers. More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults, over 70 million people, report a disability, according to the CDC, and many rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation. When a school website isn’t accessible, these families can be shut out of enrollment forms, event calendars and academic resources. An audit finds those barriers early.
Accessibility is one part of a healthy site. For a wider look at content, SEO and user experience, request our free website audit for schools.
Why schools choose us as their website accessibility agency
Founded in 1999 and specializing in school enrollment strategies since 2011, we bring the same enrollment-focused approach to accessibility as to our school marketing services.
With a dedicated web accessibility consultant on your side, you don’t have to interpret WCAG alone. Accessibility is one part of our work across schools and education marketing, and when we build or rebuild a site through our school website design services, it’s planned in from the start.
We start with an audit of your whole site against WCAG.
We prioritize the barriers most likely to affect your visitors.
We provide ongoing support as your pages, forms and content change.
What web accessibility services cover
What is web accessibility?
Web accessibility makes websites and apps usable by people with disabilities. It aligns with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the global benchmark, which rest on four principles:
Perceivable
Information and interface elements can be perceived regardless of sensory abilities.
Operable
Visitors can navigate and interact using a keyboard or other assistive technology.
Understandable
Content and interfaces are clear and intuitive.
Robust
Content works with assistive technologies.
WCAG versions and compliance levels
WCAG has three versions in use (2.0, 2.1 and 2.2), and each has three levels of compliance:
Level A
Basic accessibility features.
Level AA
Addresses the major barriers, and is the widely recognized standard.
Level AAA
The most stringent level, covering a broader range of issues.
Achieving WCAG Level AA compliance
Because Level AA is the widely recognized standard, it’s the usual target for website accessibility compliance services and for school websites. It covers practices such as:
Sufficient color contrast: text is readable against its background.
Screen reader compatibility: content is accessible through text-to-speech tools.
Keyboard navigation: the site is usable without a mouse.
Alt text for images: descriptive text for visual content.
Video captions: subtitles for multimedia.
Why web accessibility matters for schools
Equal access for all: as more services move online, inaccessible websites exclude people with disabilities from education, healthcare and government services.
Reach every family: an accessible site lets every parent, grandparent and student research your school and apply on their own, and it shows prospective families that your school welcomes everyone.
Universal benefits of accessible design: features like high-contrast design and captions help every visitor.
SEO advantages: accessible sites often rank better, because alt text and well-structured content help users and search engines alike. It’s a natural partner to SEO services for schools.
Legal compliance: the ADA covers public, charter and most private schools, and public schools now face firm federal deadlines to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Addressing accessibility early reduces legal risk.
ADA website compliance and other accessibility laws
ADA Title II: public and charter schools
A 2024 Department of Justice rule requires state and local government websites, including public school districts and public charter schools, to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. In April 2026 the deadlines were extended to April 26, 2027 for larger entities (serving 50,000 people or more) and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones.
ADA Title III: private schools
Title III covers places of public accommodation, which includes most private schools. Schools run by religious organizations are generally exempt, but families still expect an accessible website.
Section 508
Sets accessibility standards for federal agencies and their contractors.
Outside the U.S.
Schools with an international audience may also meet Ontario’s AODA or the European Accessibility Act. Both build on the same WCAG standard.
Our commitment to inclusive website design
Accessibility is more than a checklist. It’s your school’s commitment to welcoming every family and student.
An accessible website lets prospective families explore your programs, register for events and reach your staff without giving up along the way. That’s the same outcome a conversion-focused school website design aims for: fewer obstacles between a family’s first visit and their inquiry.
For more on what families expect when they land on your site, read 6 essential tips for school websites.
School website accessibility questions, answered
Something else on your mind? Call us at (949) 276-6063.
What does a website accessibility audit include?
An audit reviews your website against WCAG, checking color contrast, keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, image alt text and video captions. It identifies which issues affect real visitors most, such as families trying to complete an enrollment form or find an event, and gives you a prioritized list of fixes so your team knows where to start.
Do you offer a free website accessibility audit?
Yes. Enter your name, email and school website in the free audit form on this page to see how your site measures up against WCAG. If you’d like help reading the results or planning the fixes, book a free consultation and we’ll walk through them with you and recommend the next steps for your school.
How long does it take to fix accessibility issues on a website?
It depends on how many issues the audit finds and how complex they are. Simple fixes, such as adding alt text, can be done quickly. Larger changes, such as restructuring navigation for keyboard access or rebuilding forms, take more planning and development time. Your prioritized fix list lets you tackle the barriers that affect visitors most first.
Will accessibility updates change how my website looks?
Most fixes are made in the code and structure, not the visual design. Some changes, like adjusting color contrast where it fails WCAG, may be needed, but the overall look and feel of your site should stay the same. In many cases the result is simply a site that is clearer and easier to read for every visitor.
What happens if a school website is not ADA compliant?
Schools risk excluding students and families with disabilities from enrollment information, event registration and academic resources, and may face complaints or legal challenges under the ADA. Public and charter schools also have a federal deadline to meet WCAG 2.1 AA: April 26, 2027 for larger districts and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones. Addressing accessibility issues early reduces that risk, and it also shows prospective families that your school is committed to welcoming everyone.
Is website accessibility a one-time fix or an ongoing process?
It’s ongoing, because new pages, forms, documents and content can introduce new issues. Most schools pair an initial audit and remediation with continued support, so accessibility is checked as the site grows rather than rediscovered years later. A dedicated accessibility consultant keeps that work on track for your team.
Start with a website accessibility audit
A free audit shows how your school’s website measures up against WCAG, and what it would take to make every page accessible.
Prefer to talk it through? Book a free consultation.
