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Who Needs ADA Title II Training? A Guide for Content Managers | Eliquo

Who Needs ADA Training? A Guide for Content Managers
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Who Needs ADA Title II Training? A Guide for Content Managers

By Craig Boassaly – Founder, Eliquo Training

While IT teams build the infrastructure, the daily risk of ADA Title II non-compliance often lies with the content creators—and the managers who approve their work. For leadership, training must focus on Communications Directors, Social Media Managers, Procurement Officers, and Department Heads.

Managers do not need to know how to code, but they must be trained to recognize compliant workflows. They are the "gatekeepers" who ensure that inaccessible content—whether a social media post, a PDF report, or a third-party software tool—is never published in the first place.

Here is the breakdown of the strategic training required for management roles.

1. Communications Directors & Content Strategists

These managers oversee the public face of the organization. Their training must focus on Quality Assurance (QA) and establishing editorial standards.

  • The Training Focus: Learning how to spot-check content for basic errors, like "click here" links or missing captions, before approval. They also need training on how to integrate accessibility checkpoints into the editorial calendar.
  • The Goal: Shifting accessibility "left," meaning it is addressed during the drafting phase, not fixed frantically before a deadline.

2. Social Media Managers

Government entities communicate heavily through social platforms. Under Title II, these feeds are considered public programs.

  • The Training Focus: Platform-specific accessibility features, like enabling auto-captions on Instagram or adding Alt Text on X/Twitter. They also need training on handling emojis, which can clutter screen readers, and hashtag capitalization (#CamelCase).
  • The Goal: Ensuring that rapid-fire social posts do not exclude constituents with disabilities.

3. Procurement and Vendor Managers

Often, the biggest barriers aren't created internally—they are bought. If a manager buys a survey tool or a booking system that isn't accessible, the organization is liable.

  • The Training Focus: How to read a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template). Managers must learn to ask vendors the right questions during the RFP (Request for Proposal) process.
  • The Goal: Preventing the purchase of inaccessible technology that the IT team will later have to fix or replace.

4. Department Heads (HR, Finance, Public Works)

These leaders generate the bulk of an organization's documents, including applications, meeting minutes, and policy manuals.

  • The Training Focus: Understanding the "Source Document" workflow. They need to enforce a policy where staff use accessible templates in Word or PowerPoint, rather than creating "flat" unreadable PDFs.
  • The Goal: Creating a culture where accessibility is a job requirement, not an optional "nice-to-have."

Why Management Training Matters

Under ADA Title II, ignorance is not a defense. If a manager approves a campaign that is inaccessible, they have exposed the organization to legal risk. Training managers create a layer of accountability that protects the organization and ensures that technical teams aren't overwhelmed by cleaning up preventable errors.

About the Author

Craig Boassaly is the Founder and President of Eliquo Training & Development and a digital accessibility educator who has been teaching accessible document creation and WCAG best practices since 2003. He specializes in training content creators to build accessible PDFs and documents using real-world workflows.