ADA-Compliant District Website Built and Live Before the April 2026 Federal Deadline

The Challenge

The district's existing website had been built years earlier on an outdated CMS and had accumulated years of accessibility debt. Automated scans flagged dozens of WCAG 2.1 AA violations — missing alt text, broken keyboard navigation, inadequate color contrast, and inaccessible form fields. Mobile performance was poor, with Lighthouse scores in the 40s. With the ADA Title II compliance deadline for public entities approaching in April 2026, the district needed a clear path to a compliant site — and a partner who understood the federal requirements, not just web design.

What We Did

1. 1

   Ran a full WCAG 2.1 AA audit against the existing site — catalogued 47 violations across keyboard navigation, color contrast, ARIA labeling, and form accessibility

2. 2

   Rebuilt the site on a modern Next.js stack optimized for static performance and long-term maintainability

3. 3

   Implemented WCAG 2.1 AA compliance requirements from the ground up — not as a retrofit, but as structural decisions in the build

4. 4

   Optimized Core Web Vitals: image optimization, font loading, and layout stability for LCP, CLS, and INP targets

5. 5

   Configured SSL, HSTS, and security headers as part of the deployment baseline

6. 6

   Conducted pre-launch accessibility validation with keyboard-only navigation testing and screen reader compatibility review

7. 7

   Delivered a written WCAG compliance gap summary and trained district staff on content management practices that maintain compliance

8. 8

   Set up monthly performance and accessibility monitoring as an ongoing engagement

Outcomes