EN 301 549 for education: requirements, priorities, and audit checklist

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Cited answers. Sourced. Updated as standards and case law change.

• Does EN 301 549 apply to education websites?

  EN 301 549 is the harmonised European standard for digital accessibility, maintained jointly by ETSI, CEN, and CENELEC, that incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA for web and mobile content and adds requirements for hardware, software, documentation and support — and is the technical reference for both the European Accessibility Act and the Web Accessibility Directive.

• What are the most common EN 301 549 failures in education and edtech?

  Inaccessible PDF readings and lecture slides Live lectures without real-time captions Proctoring software incompatible with assistive tech

• What conformance level should a education site target?

  WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the consensus target for legal compliance and the level referenced by virtually every national accessibility law.

• Does the DOJ April 2024 Title II rule apply to public universities?

  Yes. Public universities and community colleges are state or local government entities under Title II of the ADA. The April 2024 final rule requires WCAG 2.1 AA conformance, with compliance dates of April 2026 (large entities, >50K residents) or April 2027 (smaller).

• Do private universities have the same accessibility obligations?

  Private universities are typically covered by ADA Title III (public accommodations) and Section 504 if they receive federal financial assistance — which nearly all do. The functional standard is the same: WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA conformance.

• Are lecture captions required?

  Live audio captioning is required under WCAG 1.2.4 and reinforced by Section 504 and Title II. Auto-generated captions alone often fail to meet accuracy thresholds; institutions are increasingly investing in human-corrected or hybrid captioning.