Tightrope Media Systems Launches MediaScribe Accessibility Academy

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, May 18, 2026 – Tightrope Media Systems today announced the launch of the MediaScribe Accessibility Academy, an online educational platform to help government content creators become experts on accessible video content. Anchored to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA compliance criteria required under the updated ADA Title II rules, the new program offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to help organizations meet all ADA web video requirements within 90 days.

While the DOJ recently bought governments some extra time by pushing the deadline to April 26, 2027 for larger jurisdictions and April 26, 2028 for smaller ones, the underlying legal obligations haven't changed. The DOJ was also clear in its interim final rule that it fully intends to enforce the rule when the new deadline arrives. Even with the federal extension in place, state-level mandates in California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Indiana apply on their own timeline, and Colorado's deadline already passed on July 1, 2025.

As AI tools made it easier than ever for individuals to identify violations and file without an attorney, ADA Title III lawsuits against private businesses increased 40 percent year over year, a pattern that governments would be wise to watch closely. The extension gives governments more time to get compliant, not permission to delay.

Available now, the MediaScribe Accessibility Academy offers government accessibility training using a module-based learning path with articles, videos, and an implementation strategy. It begins with a plain-language guide to WCAG and a complete map of the applicable criteria for video. From there, users will take deep dives into captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions. The curriculum also covers visual content and graphics guidelines, keyboard accessibility, and more.

Users also get access to printable resources, including a self-audit checklist, glossary of terms, and an audio description decision flowchart. The curriculum is designed to be useful regardless of which tools an organization uses for ADA video compliance, with additional guidance for those using MediaScribe, Tightrope's AI-powered captioning, translation, and audio description platform. The Academy is free and open to everyone.

“It’s fair to say that learning all the new ADA Title II rules can be overwhelming, particularly for small government media operations,” said JJ Parker, co-founder and CEO of Tightrope Media Systems, maker of MediaScribe, a video accessibility platform built for local government operations. “MediaScribe Academy makes it easier by breaking up the training into easy-to-digest lessons. We designed it to give small government teams the tools, training, and documentation needed to meet their video accessibility requirements within 90 days.”

To access the MediaScribe Accessibility Academy, please visit mediascribe.ai/academy.

About Tightrope Media Systems

For more than 25 years, Tightrope Media Systems has been providing video distribution and media accessibility solutions that help government and community organizations deliver timely messaging to the right people in the right place at the right time. Its Cablecast community media multiplatform playout automation simplifies video distribution for cable channels, websites, and mobile and OTT streaming devices. And its MediaScribe platform provides comprehensive video accessibility for live and on-demand content—including live captions, real-time translation, meeting transcription, and audio descriptions—helping government teams meet ADA Title II compliance requirements. Find out more at www.trms.com or call (612) 866-4118.