Halda Is ADA Compliant. Many Student Engagement Tools Aren't.

Public institutions take note.

In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice updated Title II of the ADA with a rule that should have sent every higher ed tech vendor scrambling: all public colleges and universities must ensure their digital content meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards by a hard legal deadline.

Not "strongly encouraged,” or "when we get to it." It’s required by federal law.

The clock's ticking:

• April 24, 2026 is the deadline for institutions serving populations of 50,000+
• April 26, 2027 is the deadline for smaller institutions and special district governments

Many student engagement tools will need to play catch-up, but Halda is ready, and committed to ensuring that all features meet these standards in the future. 

Halda just cleared the bar

Our student-facing components now meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards, verified through our updated VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template). This wasn't a last-minute scramble or a compliance checkbox. Our engineering team spent the latter half of 2025 rebuilding components from the ground up to get this right. And just last week, we released an extra layer of protection for all future feature updates: every feature will go through an automated check to ensure that it meets our ADA standard.

We put in the time because we know accessibility isn't a nice-to-have, it's foundational. And if your tech stack can't pass muster, you're not just risking regulatory scrutiny, you're alienating some students out before they ever get a chance to engage with your institution.

What this means for you

If you're at a public institution, you need to start asking every edtech vendor you’ve partnered with  one simple question: Are you compliant?

Come April 2026 (or 2027), the DOJ will hold your institution accountable, regardless of whether your CRM vendor or chatbot provider had compliance "on the roadmap." The responsibility sits with you.

For private institutions, this still matters. Digital accessibility lawsuits are on the rise, and beyond legal risk, there's something more fundamental at stake: you don't want to be the school that alienates some students out because your tech wasn't built for them.

Why most platforms are behind

Accessibility is hard. It requires rethinking UI/UX, rewriting code, and testing every interaction against strict technical standards. It's not flashy, it doesn't show up in a demo, and it’s a slow-moving process.

As a result, many vendors punted and chose to prioritize features that sell, leaving accessibility on the backburner. 

What we did differently

Halda's engineering team didn't treat WCAG compliance as a post-launch cleanup project. We integrated it into our development process, tested relentlessly, and got our VPAT independently verified.

That means:

• Screen reader compatibility across all student-facing touchpoints
• Effective keyboard navigation
• Color contrast ratios that meet federal standards
• Alternative text for images and media
• Form labels, error messages, and focus indicators built to spec

These updates are  production-ready, legally defensible, and documented.

A word on “done”

Accessibility isn't a box you check once and move on from. WCAG standards evolve, auditors interpret guidelines differently, and new features introduce new considerations. Even well-resourced teams doing everything right will encounter edge cases that need revisiting.

We won’t tell you Halda is perfect. No platform is, and any vendor claiming otherwise should raise your eyebrows. What we will tell you is this: we have the infrastructure, the process, and the commitment to triage any accessibility issue that comes up  with the highest priority. Our automated compliance checks on every new feature are our mechanism for catching problems before partners do.

We did the hard work to get here and we won’t  stop now.

What you should do next

Audit your tech stack. If you're using other enrollment marketing, CRM, or student engagement tools, ask them for their VPAT. If they can't provide one—or if it's full of gaps—you know what that means.

Start now. Compliance isn't something you can cram for at the last minute and the urgency is highest for large public institutions. Start planning now. Your procurement team, IT department, and legal counsel will thank you.

Halda partners can view and download our VPAT in the Halda Knowledge Base. We've made it available along with all the procurement and IT documentation your team will need.

The bottom line

Halda is ADA compliant. We did the work, we have the documentation, and we're ready to help you navigate what comes next.

Many vendors aren't there yet. And that's a decision point worth taking seriously.