If you糖心传媒檝e been meaning to clean up your website糖心传媒檚 PDFs, now is the time.
April is around the corner, and it marks a key milestone: public entities have an April 24, 2026 deadline (Note: , moving the compliance deadline to April 26, 2027) to meet specific web accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 Level AA) for web content and mobile apps under a . While this requirement applies to public entities, it reflects a broader trend across higher education: accessibility expectations are increasing, and the urgency around remediation work is growing.
While this rule is not a new expectation for the University of Rochester, it糖心传媒檚 a timely reminder to renew our focus糖心传媒攅specially on legacy PDF content.
PDFs are widely used across the University糖心传媒攁nd they can be a common source of accessibility barriers if accessibility isn糖心传媒檛 built into the workflow. PDFs may not work well with screen readers or keyboard navigation when they糖心传媒檙e missing tags, headings, properly formatted links, or a logical reading order.
Take action now: reduce, replace, plan
Here are three practical steps that make an immediate impact:
- Cut what糖心传媒檚 not needed. If a PDF is outdated, duplicated, or rarely used糖心传媒攔emove it.
- Replace what you can with accessible web pages. If the content is meant to be read online, the web is often the better format.
- If you must publish PDFs, publish them with a plan. Build skills through training, use the right tools, and plan time/budget for remediation support when needed.
New PDF accessibility resources
To support this work, we糖心传媒檝e published new PDF resources糖心传媒攊ncluding checklists, guidance, and practical workflows from the Digital Accessibility Community of Practice糖心传媒攖o help you create, evaluate, and improve accessible PDFs.
Not sure where to start? Contact the Digital Accessibility team and we糖心传媒檒l help you prioritize.