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Notice to SUNY Vendors Providing Digital Resources

We greatly value the products and services your company provides to the State University of New York (SUNY). SUNY also has legal obligations around digital accessibility for online services used by its students, employees, and the public. Therefore, a key factor in maintaining our relationship is ensuring that your offerings meet the various accessibility requirements outlined below, as required by applicable law. Additionally, SUNY abides by its Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility policy.

Given the use of your products within our digital environment, we need to determine which products will comply with these requirements or if alternative solutions must be explored well in advance of specified deadlines. We are committed to achieving compliance with digital accessibility standards and ask for your assistance in this process. This notice explains the standards we use and the documentation we will request during procurement and contract renewal.

Compliance Context

SUNY’s accessibility obligations for digital content include the following requirements and standards:

• New York State Executive Law § 170-f: effective as of 2023, requires all websites procured under state contract to conform to the most current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium for accessibility, or successor standards (currently WCAG 2.2, released October 05, 2023).
• New York State Human Rights Law (NYS Exec. L. § 296): prohibits disability discrimination in places of public accommodation, including public facing websites. SUNY treats public-facing digital services as part of its program and services and evaluates accessibility accordingly.
• DOJ rules under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): 28 C.F.R. Part 35, Subpart H Web and Mobile Accessibility, §§ 35.200 – 35-209, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability, applies to all state and local government entities, including public higher education institutions – all web content and mobile applications must conform to WCAG 2.1 AA (regulations effective June 24, 2024; SUNY compliance deadline of April 24, 2027).
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) rules under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (for SUNY institutions that receive HHS funding, as applicable): Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794), applies to programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. For recipients of HHS funding in particular, including many higher education institutions and its hospitals – all web content, mobile applications, and kiosks must conform to WCAG 2.1 AA (compliance deadline of May 11, 2027).

Some of the requirements above do not directly mandate compliance from third-party vendors. In practice, though, SUNY must be able to demonstrate that the third-party products and services we deploy or rely on meet the applicable accessibility standards. If a vendor product or service does not conform, SUNY may not be able to continue using it or renewing it without an approved remediation plan and, where applicable, interim measures.  This remains true even if SUNY previously allowed use of your product or service under an approved Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan (EEAAP) in the past.

Action Requested

We hope your company will bring its products and services into full compliance with WCAG 2.1/WCAG 2.2 AA standards, enabling us to continue our valued partnership. For each web, mobile, or kiosk product/service your company provides to SUNY, please be prepared to provide:

1. Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)
1. Use the VPAT 2.5Rev WCAG (April 2025) format (or later, if updated)
2. A third-party tested ACR is strongly preferred.
3. The ACR should reflect the current production version and be dated within the last 12 months (or since the last major release).
2. Gap List + Remediation Plan
1. Identify any WCAG 2.1 AA and/or 2.2 AA gaps (based on whichever standard that applies).
2. Provide a remediation roadmap with target dates for fixes (including interim mitigations, if needed) to align your systems with WCAG 2.1 AA and/or WCAG 2.2 AA.
3. Responses to Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT) 4.1.4 accessibility questions (ITAC-01 to ITAC-18)
3. Consult resources such as the Big Ten Academic Alliance's Digital Accessibility Vendor Cookbook.

Next Steps

Upon renewal and/or any new procurements, SUNY will request the materials above as part of our review. If your product/service has known accessibility gaps, SUNY may request a written remediation roadmap and may include accessibility terms in the contract tied to specific delivery dates.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.