Think about the last time you came across the term “accessibility”. What was the context? Maybe it was a discussion about legal requirements or technology procurement. Or perhaps it came up while talking about designing quality online courses. No matter where you’ve encountered the term, you probably recognize that accessibility is important in education.
But here’s the thing: in education, accessibility is often treated as just a compliance issue or reduced to a technical checklist (“We have to do this, or we’ll get sued,” sounds familiar?). That approach to accessibility limits its impact, and honestly, can actually be counterproductive since any efforts tend to be short-lived. Accessibility is more than checklists, tests, and procedures. It is an ongoing and collaborative practice to remove barriers for people with disabilities and to ensure their equitable access to opportunities and participation in society. This is why we are never done!
Following the Department of Justice’s recent guidance on Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), most educational institutions have been prioritizing what we call teaching accessibly, or ensuring that course materials, technologies, and instructional methods are accessible. That is an important step. However, far fewer institutions focus on teaching accessibility, which means integrating accessibility as a topic in the curriculum. In this post, we’ll explore why both matter and how they work together to create a more inclusive education.
Embedding Accessibility into Instructional Practices
Many educators recognize the importance of making their courses accessible and providing accommodations to support students with disabilities. But accessibility isn’t just about the resources we use, it’s also about how we teach. For example, adopting an accessible textbook is a great step, but if assessments rely solely on timed, high-stakes exams, students with disabilities may still face barriers. Similarly, offering a class on Zoom can improve access, but if slides aren’t shared in advance, captions and ASL interpretation aren’t provided, or recordings lack accurate captions, participation still isn’t truly equitable.
To make learning truly accessible, we need to go beyond just providing accessible materials and technology. We must be intentional about how we structure learning, as well as how we teach, communicate, and support our students. Sure, adopting an accessible learning management system or using captioned videos are helpful, but if we rely on teaching methods that unintentionally create barriers, students with disabilities may still struggle to fully engage and succeed.
That’s why teaching accessibly isn’t just about the what but also the how. It’s about the way we deliver the content, the language we use in the process, and the strategies we implement to support all learners. But to truly embed accessibility into the culture of education, we can’t stop at teaching accessibly—we also need to teach accessibility, integrating it as a key part of the curriculum.
Embedding Accessibility into the Curriculum
Once we understand the principles, standards, and guidelines of accessible design, what’s next? The answer is: teaching accessibility. This means integrating topics like disability, assistive technology, and the principles of accessibility into course content and work across disciplines.
The reality is that accessibility skills are essential in every field. Whether in business, healthcare, design, or education, professionals need to understand accessibility to create inclusive products, services, and experiences. For example, a healthcare provider needs to ensure patients can access their medical records independently, including through assistive technology. A marketing team must design a social media campaign with good color contrast, alt-text for images, captions for videos, plain language, and camel case hashtags. A hiring manager needs to ensure that the artificial intelligence (AI) tools used for recruitment provide accessible forms and support accommodation requests. So, how do we know what to teach our students about accessibility?
At Teach Access, we’ve developed a framework that outlines key accessibility knowledge areas and professional skills to guide curricular integration. This framework provides an overview of topics and learning objectives to help students understand the what, why, and how of accessibility. It’s supported by various free programs and resources to help educators begin incorporating these concepts into their courses. The good news? Integrating accessibility into coursework doesn’t require a full course redesign. Small, intentional changes can make a big impact.
Want to learn more? Join us for “Embedding Accessibility into our Pedagogy and our Curriculum” at OLC Innovate 2025, where we’ll explore practical ways to integrate accessibility into teaching and curriculum design, ensuring all students graduate with these essential career skills. Until then, let me know in the comments if you’ve engaged in teaching accessibly and/or in teaching accessibility.
About the Author
Rolando Méndez is the Director of Education at Teach Access, where he creates tools and strategies to help educators integrate accessibility into their teaching and curricula. A bilingual learning experience designer, manager, and facilitator, Rolando specializes in accessibility education, curriculum design, and workforce development. With over 20 years of experience in education, he has dedicated his career to creating accessible, sustainable, and scalable initiatives that foster learning and knowledge application. Rolando is a passionate advocate for accessibility, equity, and inclusion in all areas of education.
