A Practical Guide to Accessible Math

August 17, 2026

John Williams

Pop‑art style illustration of a woman smiling at a laptop that displays a math equation and speech bubble that reads “A Practical Guide to Accessible Math."

Many Harvard courses rely on math authored in LaTeX, a common tool for typesetting mathematical notation, but that math often reaches students in formats like images that assistive technologies cannot navigate. Digital Accessibility Services (DAS) and the Assistive Technology Center (ATC) have created a practical, low-lift guide to help faculty deliver math in structured, accessible formats such as HTML with MathML and Microsoft Word with Office Math Markup Language (OMML).

The Problem: LaTeX to PDF and Images

PDFs are great for printing and visual display, but nearly all LaTeX-generated PDFs fail to preserve math in a structured way that assistive technologies can reliably use.
Let’s consider two common scenarios that fall short of accessible math:

LaTeX source files shared directly. While a screen reader can read the raw LaTeX code, students must mentally decode LaTeX syntax to reconstruct the math. This assumes familiarity with LaTeX and forces extra cognitive load to access the math content.
Example LaTeX:

\Lap\{f(t)\} = F(s) = \int_0^{\infty} e^{-st} f(t) \, dt.

Equations flattened into images with alt text. Even with good intentions, alt text descriptions of complex fractions, matrices, or systems of equations are long, linear, and not navigable. Screen readers can’t move by term, sub-expression, operator, etc.; they just hear one continuous string of text read aloud from beginning to end.
Example image with alt text:

Alt=“Laplace transform of f of t: calligraphic L of f of t equals F of s equals the integral from t equals zero to infinity of e to the minus s t times f of t d t.”

In both cases, the underlying structure that makes math perceivable and navigable is missing.

Our Current Recommendation: The Plus-One Approach

Rather than abandoning PDFs, DAS recommends a Plus-One (+1) Approach based on the tools and platforms that currently provide the most reliable math access.

This means you can keep using PDFs where they work well (for printing or visual reading), but also provide at least one additional format where math is encoded structurally, such as:

HTML with MathML (for Canvas and the web), or
Word/PowerPoint with OMML (Office Math Markup Language).

Formats like MathML and OMML encode both the visual presentation and the meaning of math. On Windows, modern screen readers with the MathCAT plugin can support rich navigation, reading, and interaction with equations. On Apple devices, VoiceOver can read MathML in Safari and provides math speech in some Microsoft 365 apps (such as Excel, PowerPoint, and PowerPoint Live in Teams), but support, especially in Word for Mac and Office on the web, is still evolving and can vary by version, so it’s important to test with the tools your students use. For more detail on math speech in Microsoft 365, see Peter Wu’s post “Writing and presenting about math is easy and inclusive with Microsoft 365” (Microsoft 365 Insider Blog).

In these formats, equations are encoded so that people using screen readers, braille displays, and other text-to-speech tools can move through expressions and explore sub-expressions and complex notation accurately. This is exactly where traditional LaTeX-to-PDF workflows have fallen short.

Low-Lift Tools Available to Faculty Now

DAS and ATC focused on three primary paths:

Canvas Equation Editor (HTML + MathML)
The Canvas Rich Content Editor includes an equation editor powered by MathJax. Faculty can enter LaTeX or use the visual equation builder. Canvas renders the equation as a vector image in the browser, while storing MathML behind the scenes in the page’s structure.
Microsoft Word Equation Editor (OMML)
Like Canvas, Word’s native equation editor supports LaTeX input and a visual equation builder. Equations are stored as OMML, which modern screen readers can navigate when the document remains in accessible formats like DOCX. Word is a good fit when instructors are sharing downloadable worksheets or handouts. PowerPoint uses the same equation tools.

Note: Both Canvas and Word are ideal for small-scale math: weekly problem sets, short quizzes, or inline examples.

Pandoc for full-document and batch conversion
For faculty who live in LaTeX and have large volumes of materials like problem sets, exams, handouts, even slide decks, recreating everything by hand in Canvas or Word might not seem realistic. Here we recommend Pandoc, an open-source converter that can:
- Convert LaTeX to HTML with MathML or Word with OMML, and
- Handle single files or whole batches of documents.

For more information about conversion best practices using Pandoc, contact the ATC at atc@fas.harvard.edu.

More About PDFs from LaTeX

There has been real progress in using LaTeX to generate Tagged PDF 2.0 with MathML embedded. However, results are still:

Inconsistent across PDF viewers and screen readers, and
Often inaccessible to many assistive technologies students rely on.

Therefore, we currently treat tagged PDF 2.0 as experimental rather than an accessible format. For most courses, HTML with MathML and Word/PowerPoint with OMML are the most reliable options for accessible math. We will continue to monitor authoring tools, platform support, and other developments to update our guidance accordingly.

Check Out the Guide

DAS’s new Practical Guide to Accessible Math:

Highlights low-lift workflows in Canvas and Word,
Introduces Pandoc for high-volume LaTeX authors, and
Frames it all within a Plus-One strategy grounded in Universal Design for Learning.

If your team is grappling with the challenges of making math accessible, we encourage you to check out the guide, talk with your local accessibility partners, and adapt these approaches to your own specifications. We also encourage you to join our Canvas Accessibility Taskforce to continue the discussion around STEM accessibility and other learning materials.