Settlement reached in suit over video captioning at Harvard

Expanding access to knowledge and making online learning accessible is of 'vital importance', the Ivy League school said in a statement. — AP

Harvard University agreed to make its website and online courses friendlier to those who are deaf or hard of hearing as part of a settlement in a federal lawsuit.

The suit, filed in 2015 by the National Association of the Deaf, alleged that many of Harvard’s online videos, courses and podcasts did not include captions or were inaccurately transcribed. By offering the content to the public without captions, the suit alleged, Harvard was violating federal civil rights laws protecting those with disabilities.