Ally Product Pulse

# Ally

# Accessibility

May Edition

Katie Grennell, PhD.

Ally Product Pulse Issue #8-May Edition

As May arrives, so does the welcome shift toward warmer days, longer evenings, and a renewed sense of energy. It’s a time to get outside, soak up the sunshine, collect a few freckles, and embrace a new season of momentum. With Global Accessibility Awareness Day ahead, it’s also the perfect moment to recommit to creating inclusive, accessible experiences for all learners.

Inside this Month's Issue:

Topic spotlight: Title II Deadline Extension

New Content

Release Highlight

Upcoming Events

Did you Know?

Topic Spotlight: Title II Deadline Extension

The Department of Justice has extended the Title II web accessibility compliance deadline by one year—now April 26, 2027, for public entities serving 50,000 or more people, and April 26, 2028, for those serving fewer than 50,000. While the timeline has shifted, the requirement to provide accessible digital experiences remains unchanged, and institutions should continue making steady, measurable progress. Ally remains committed to partnering with you to make your content as accessible as possible, not just by meeting requirements, but by building sustainable, inclusive practices over time.

We encourage you to deepen your engagement with the Ally community by joining office hours, connecting with the Community, and participating in our user group to share to support your next steps, explore the Title II Strategy Guide and Playbook—currently being updated to align with the new timeline—and the Administrator Adoption Strategy Guide to help drive meaningful, lasting impact.

New Content

Ally for Instructors: Microlearning for Accessible Teaching Video Series: the second video in the series, “Strategically Prioritizing Accessibility using the Course Accessibility Report” is now available. This video shows how instructors can use Ally's Course Accessibility Report to strategically prioritize accessibility remediation efforts through four real‑world scenarios. Each scenario highlights which guided remediation approaches are the best fit for addressing the identified issues.

The Accessibility Compliance Trap, Part 2: What the Title II Extension Changes and What it Doesn't: in this latest blog post, we unpack what the new timeline really means, why legal exposure remains, and how institutions can maintain steady, meaningful progress. We also explore the role of AI and why it should be viewed as a support, not a complete solution, for accessibility.

Release Highlights

In April, we rolled out several releases focused on improving Ally’s document processing experience. The 2.18.3 Ally Release Notes (April 20, 2026) release delivered meaningful enhancements to the document conversion engine that powers Instructor Feedback and Alternative Formats, resulting in more accurate feedback, better handling of images, shapes, and alt text, and higher‑quality alternative formats for students. These updates also improve processing speed and overall reliability when content is ingested from the LMS. An additional fix included in the 2.18.4 Ally Release Notes (April 30, 2026) resolved incorrect heading flags in Blackboard Ultra Docs that previously capped some documents at 98%.

Upcoming Events

One of our most favorite days of the year, Global Accessibility Awareness Day, takes place on May 21, 2026, and we’re celebrating all month long. This May, we’re launching Books without Borders, a limited blog series published exclusively during the month of May in honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Throughout the month of May, the series will spotlight powerful works by disabled authors and advocates, along with books that explore disability rights, accessibility, disability history, and the ongoing journey towards equity and inclusion. We’ll also be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, May 20^th at 2pm EST called Blackboard Ally: Accessible Learning for Everyone, featuring Dr. Wendy Velez-Torres. Stay tuned—we have even more exciting content planned throughout the month. We can’t wait to celebrate this community!

Ally Office Hours: Our next office hours are on Monday, May 11^th at 11 am EST. Register at: Ally Office Hours Registration Link. Please submit your questions in advance so we can come prepared: Ally Office Hours-Submit your Question (form).

Did You Know?

Did you know that Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) started in 2012 as a single blog post by web developer Joe Devon? The post, which called on people to talk, think, and learn more about digital access and inclusion, was later discovered by accessibility expert Jennison Asuncion, who reached out to Joe via Twitter. Together, they transformed a simple idea into a globally recognized day of awareness. Each May, organizations, institutions, and disability advocates around the world use GAAD as a springboard to reaffirm leadership commitment and advance accessibility efforts.

Interested in learning how you can get involved in Global Accessibility Awareness Day? Participate by starting conversations, learning something new about accessibility, and taking one meaningful step—no matter the size—toward more inclusive experiences, practices, and environments. Explore GAAD events happening around the world at GAAD 2026 Global Events & Activities.

Comments (0)

Popular