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Accessibility Statement

Last updated: March 26, 2026

Our Commitment

LectureAid is built specifically to make higher education content accessible to students with disabilities. Accessibility is not an afterthought for us — it is our core mission and the reason our platform exists.

We are committed to ensuring that the LectureAid platform itself meets or exceeds the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards, as well as applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the European Accessibility Act (EN 301 549).

Conformance Status

LectureAid targets WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance. We actively test against these guidelines and use automated and manual testing to identify and resolve accessibility issues. Our development workflow includes:

  • Automated WCAG auditing integrated into our CI/CD pipeline
  • ESLint accessibility rules (eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y) enforced on every code change
  • Pre-commit hooks that catch accessibility regressions before code is merged
  • End-to-end accessibility testing using browser automation against the accessibility tree

Accessibility Features

The following accessibility features are built into the LectureAid platform:

Navigation & Structure

  • Skip navigation link to bypass repetitive content
  • Semantic HTML throughout (headings, landmarks, lists, tables)
  • Consistent, predictable navigation patterns
  • Logical heading hierarchy (h1 through h6)
  • ARIA landmarks and labels for all interactive regions

Keyboard Accessibility

  • All interactive elements are keyboard accessible
  • Visible focus indicators on all focusable elements
  • Arrow key navigation for slides in the lecture panel view
  • Focus traps in modal dialogs and slide-out panels (chat widget, accessibility widget) with Escape key to close
  • Logical tab order throughout all pages
  • No keyboard traps — focus can always be moved away from any element

Visual Accessibility

  • Color contrast meets WCAG AA requirements (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
  • Content does not rely on color alone to convey information
  • Text is resizable up to 200% without loss of functionality
  • No content flashes more than 3 times per second

Screen Reader Support

  • All images and icons include appropriate alt text or are marked as decorative
  • Form inputs are properly labeled with associated descriptions
  • Dynamic content changes are announced via ARIA live regions
  • Processing status updates are conveyed programmatically
  • Chat messages in the lecture Q&A widget are announced as they arrive
  • Search results are announced with count and grouping information

Optional Display Preferences

LectureAid is fully accessible by default without any display preferences enabled. The core platform uses semantic HTML, ARIA landmarks and labels, full keyboard navigation, and screen reader support as baseline features. These optional display preferences provide additional comfort for users who want to fine-tune their experience:

  • Seizure Safe — Disables animations, transitions, and flashing content
  • Vision Impaired — Increases text size, letter spacing, and contrast
  • ADHD Friendly — Reduces visual clutter, removes shadows and gradients
  • Cognitive Disability — Increases line height, word spacing, and limits line width
  • Keyboard Navigation — Enhanced focus indicators with prominent outlines
  • Screen Reader — Optimizes ARIA live regions for screen reader announcements

These preferences are entirely optional -- LectureAid works fully with assistive technologies out of the box. Selections are saved locally and persist across sessions.

Content Accessibility

Beyond the platform interface, LectureAid makes lecture content itself more accessible:

  • AI-generated visual descriptions for every lecture slide, describing charts, diagrams, equations, and spatial relationships
  • Multiple note display formats (Outline, Annotated Transcript, Boxing, Concept Map, T-Chart, Matrix) to suit different learning preferences
  • Audio export of generated notes via text-to-speech
  • Semantic search across all lecture content
  • Context-aware Q&A chat grounded in lecture material

Testing & Evaluation

We evaluate the accessibility of LectureAid using a combination of automated and manual testing methods:

  • Automated testing with axe-core and eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y (13 strict accessibility rules enforced at build time)
  • Custom WCAG 2.1 audit tooling that runs on every component, including high-contrast profile verification
  • End-to-end browser testing against the accessibility tree (not visual screenshots) covering keyboard navigation, focus management, and ARIA correctness
  • Manual keyboard-only navigation testing across all workflows
  • Screen reader testing with VoiceOver (macOS) and NVDA (Windows)
  • Color contrast analysis meeting WCAG AA (4.5:1 normal text) with AAA targets (7:1) for the high-contrast profile
  • Responsive design testing across mobile, tablet, and desktop viewports

Known Limitations

While we strive for full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, we are transparent about the following areas where we continue to improve:

  • AI-generated slide descriptions may not capture every visual detail, particularly for complex diagrams, handwritten content, or densely packed data visualizations. Description quality varies with slide complexity.
  • Audio transcription accuracy depends on recording quality, speaker accents, and technical terminology. Transcripts may contain errors that propagate into generated notes.
  • PDF slide images uploaded by users do not have inherent text alternatives — LectureAid generates these via AI, but the descriptions are interpretive rather than exact reproductions.
  • Some third-party embedded content (e.g., imported YouTube video players) may not fully meet accessibility standards.
  • The accessibility widget profiles apply CSS-based modifications that may not cover every visual element in complex note template formats.

We actively track and prioritize accessibility improvements. If you discover an issue not listed here, please let us know.

Assistive Technology Compatibility

LectureAid is designed to be compatible with the following assistive technologies:

  • VoiceOver (macOS/iOS)
  • NVDA (Windows)
  • JAWS (Windows)
  • Dragon NaturallySpeaking
  • Browser zoom and text resizing
  • High contrast mode and custom stylesheets

Feedback & Contact

We welcome feedback on the accessibility of LectureAid. If you encounter any accessibility barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us:

Email: info@lectureaid.com

We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 2 business days and to resolve reported accessibility issues as quickly as possible.

Enforcement & Complaints

If you are not satisfied with our response to your accessibility concern, you may contact the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) or your institution's disability services office for assistance.