Office for Civil Rights Raises Digital Accessibility Concerns at Council Rock School District
Pennsylvania district must audit and correct identified barriers involving its websites, PDFs, videos, social media, third-party platforms, and mass email and text notification system.
July 13, 2026, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a resolution letter to Council Rock School District (CRSD) in Newton, Pennsylvania, concerning the accessibility of the district’s online programs, services, and activities.
OCR styled the matter as OCR Docket No. 03-25-1460 and investigated:
“whether the District’s online programs, services, and activities exclude qualified persons with disabilities from participation in, deny them the benefits of, or otherwise subject them to discrimination under any program or activity, in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. § 104.4 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and its implementing regulation at 28 C.F.R. Part 35. . . .
“whether the District fails to take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with applicants, participants, members of the public, and companions with disabilities are as effective as its communication with others, in violation of 28 C.F.R. § 35.160(a).”
That same day, CRSD signed a resolution agreement with OCR to voluntarily resolve the investigation under Section 302 of OCR’s Case Processing Manual.
A Note About Section 302
OCR’s letter doesn’t use the language that has often appeared in other resolution letters stating that a district expressed interest in resolving a complaint before OCR completed its investigation. It states only that CRSD signed the agreement under Section 302.
Under Section 302:
“Allegations under investigation may be resolved at any time when, prior to the point when the Regional Office issues a final determination under CPM Section 303, the recipient expresses an interest in resolving the allegations and OCR determines that it is appropriate to resolve them because OCR’s investigation has identified issues that can be addressed through a resolution agreement. The provisions of the resolution agreement must be tied to the allegations and the evidence obtained during the investigation, and will be consistent with applicable regulations.”
This means the agreement shouldn’t be described as a violation finding or as a finding that CRSD complied. OCR ended the investigation after identifying possible compliance concerns that it determined could be addressed through the agreement.
