Learn about CAST’s Universal Design for Learning framework, fostering inclusive educational experiences and improving learning outcomes for all learners.

The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework developed by CAST to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

At CAST, we know that barriers to learning are in education design, not individual learners. We invented UDL to help break down these barriers so that all learners can shape their own learning journey and reach their potential.

PDF versions of the graphic organizer are available on the downloads page. The evolution of CAST’s UDL Guidelines has been and continues to be a dynamic, collaborative, and research-based process. We shared the first version of the Guidelines — Version 1.0 — in 2008.

CAST is a global leader in the inclusive education movement. As a pioneering nonprofit in education research and development, we created the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework and Guidelines to transform learning.

Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment.

CAST is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming education through Universal Design for Learning. For 40 years, we have been leading the charge in creating equitable and inclusive learning environments.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that guides the design of learning goals, materials, methods, and assessments as well as the policies surrounding these curricular elements with the diversity of learners in mind. View this video with downloadable transcript on the About UDL page.

CAST's UDL Guidelines site provides detailed description of each guideline and checkpoint and the research that supports them. Download any of the three variations of the UDL Guideline graphic organizers.

This resource provides tips, videos and process ideas for specific ways faculty members and instructional designers can use the UDL framework to plan, design and implement curricula to meet the needs of the diverse learners in their classrooms.