In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a final rule updating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requiring state and local governments — including public schools and universities — to ensure that their websites and mobile apps meet recognized digital accessibility standards. The first deadline for compliance, which applies to governments of 50,000 people or more, is April 24, 2026. All other governments must comply by April 26, 2027.
The rule has prompted questions from many student journalism programs: Does this requirement apply to student news websites?
First, private schools and private colleges generally are not covered by Title II, so the new web rule does not directly apply to them.
For student news organizations at public schools and public colleges, the answer will depend largely on how the publication is structured. In many situations, there are strong arguments that student-led news websites are not the same as official government-operated websites and therefore may fall outside the rule’s scope. Several legal factors are relevant.
Key Question: Is the site considered a government website?
The ADA rule applies to websites and digital services operated by state or local governments.
The answer will vary by publication. Because student news programs are structured differently, the analysis will depend on how your specific program and website are set up. Some publications may function as part of an institution’s official communications infrastructure. Others operate more like independent publishers.
Factors that may be relevant include:
- Are students responsible for editorial content?
- Is the site hosted outside the institution’s official web infrastructure?
- Does the publication represent itself as an official institutional publication or an independent voice of students?
- Do administrators have the authority to alter or remove content? Note that this question would likely be impacted by the existence of a state New Voices law or a school’s policies or practices, discussed below.
The more editorial authority rests with student editors rather than administrators, the stronger the argument that the publication is not a government-controlled website.
The ADA rule’s ‘third-party content’ exception
The web rule specifically recognizes that government entities often host or link to content they do not control. It explains:
Third parties are members of the public or others who are not controlled by or acting for state or local governments. The state or local government may not be able to change the content third parties post.
— U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Title II Web Accessibility Rule (2024)
If a student newsroom operates with editorial independence, its content may resemble the kind of third-party speech described in the rule, meaning the institution may not be responsible for ensuring that content meets accessibility standards.
Student press freedom laws and the First Amendment
Many states have enacted student free expression laws (“New Voices” laws) that explicitly give student editors authority over the content of student media. See the Student Press Law Center’s overview: https://splc.org/new-voices/
For public high schools in states without New Voice protection, the question is more complicated. A thorough analysis is beyond the scope of this article, but you can get a general sense of your legal protections using this diagram.
At public colleges and universities, the answer is generally much clearer. In addition to possible state law protection, the federal First Amendment protections for student journalists limit the ability of public college officials to control editorial decisions. Courts have long recognized that student media at public colleges generally function as independent forums for student expression, not institutional speech.
These legal protections reinforce the argument that student media operate as independent speakers rather than institutional publishers.
Accessibility as a best practice
Regardless of legal obligations, many student newsrooms are choosing to voluntarily adopt accessibility practices — such as adding captions, image descriptions and accessible formatting — to make their journalism available to a wider audience.
That kind of editorial decision is different from a government mandate requiring compliance with ADA web accessibility rules.
Bottom line
Whether the ADA’s new web accessibility rule applies to a public school’s student media website will usually depend on who controls the publication and whether the site is considered part of the school’s official communications infrastructure. If a newsroom is editorially independent and operates outside institutional control, there may be strong arguments that it is not a government-operated website covered by the rule. At the same time, many student publications may still choose to adopt accessibility practices voluntarily as a matter of good journalism and audience service.