AAAL 2026 Conference Policies & Waivers

Requesting ADA Accommodations for the 2026 AAAL Conference

Conference Cancellation Policy

Dependent Children Event Attendance Policy

AAAL Privacy & Data Use Notice

AAAL Policy on Harassment

AAAL is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for all members and participants in all its professional activities and spaces. It does not tolerate discrimination or any forms of harassment based on race, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, language, national origin, ancestry, disability, appearance, marital status, caste, age, and other constructions of difference. It is the responsibility of the community as a whole to promote an inclusive and positive environment for all association activities. Any violations of this policy should be reported to TellSomeone@aaal.org.

Your message will be relayed by the Business Office to the AAAL President and/or other members of the AAAL Executive Committee as necessary. Reports will be kept as confidential to the extent possible and be investigated thoroughly. Anyone found to be in violation of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

Requesting ADA Accommodations for the 2026 AAAL Conference

AAAL aims to carve out more accessible spaces and practices during the 2026 Conference in Chicago, IL, and at future conferences. Everyone who is interested in attending the 2026 AAAL Conference is welcome to seek accommodations/adjustments to meet your disability and special needs via this form. You are not required to disclose your disability or identity status when making such requests. For issues related to hotel reservation, please contact the hotel directly.

The Conference Organizing Team kindly asks that accommodation requests be submitted by January 17, 2026 so that your request will most effectively be supported. If you have missed this date, feel free to make your requests anyway. The conference team will do their best to accommodate all requests.

Among possible accommodations, the 2026 Conference has a limited number of Zoom-enabled slots that allow for the remote delivery of presentations. Presenters for whom in-person participation presents a serious health risk will be prioritized in the allocation of these slots.

AAAL Travel Policy

AAAL recognizes that much more needs to be done to improve the accessibility of future conferences. The current Standing Rule 17 (see below) is incompatible with an anti-ableist perspective and is currently under review. A Working Group, including members of the AAAL disability community, has been established to understand how the conference can disrupt ableist oppression and access barriers.

As stated in the AAAL's Standing Rule 17:

Adjudicated conference presentations may not be done solely by telecommunication procedures; at least one co-author must be physically present at the conference.

1. 1. Although in-person participation is prioritized, exception to this policy will be made in certain cases to allow for video-recorded presentations or online synchronous presentations. The Q&A segment for online synchronous sessions will be managed by a student volunteer. Accommodation requests for the following will be given priority:

1. 1. 1. Medical circumstance of self or immediate family member which prevents travel
    2. Denial or rejection of visa beyond a time frame which reasonably allows for travel accommodations to the conference, at the Conference Chair’s discretion
    3. Citizenship of or current residence in a “travel ban” country

In 2026, travel may still pose difficulties for some presenters due to COVID-19. Please read more here.

Conference Cancellation Policy

Refunds due to cancellation will be processed as follows:

Cancellation on or before February 10, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST - Refund 70% of registration fee
Cancellation on or after February 11, 2026 at 12:00 AM EST - No refund due to cancellation

If registered at a member rate and membership expires prior to the last published date of conference, you will be contacted in advance of conference to either renew membership, or pay the difference between the member registration rate and non-member registration rate. Should renewal not be completed prior to arriving onsite, the membership will need to be renewed onsite or the difference in the non-member and member rate collected prior to entering the conference.

Please note: All cancellation requests must be made in writing to info@aaal.org.

Membership fees are non-refundable.

Health & Safety Guidelines

AAAL 2026 organizers are following the safety guidelines and protocols of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk Hotel. The American Association for Applied Linguistics asks for your help to ensure the safety of all attendees at this event, which will operate consistent with CDC, state, and venue guidance and restrictions related to COVID-19. Participants will receive a logistics email one-week prior to the Conference with this and additional information.

These are our expectations for participation based on existing rules and best practices:

Vaccines: AAAL strongly recommends that attendees are vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of participation. The AAAL 2025 conference team will not be checking for proof during the conference.
Masks: Regardless of vaccination status, masks will be optional for all indoor events.*
Personal Responsibility: If you are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or believe you encountered someone with COVID-19, please get a test and refrain from attending any Conference events.
Sanitizing Stations: Will be available throughout the hotel, especially in high traffic areas.

The above approach is consistent with current guidelines but may be subject to change. We are looking forward to seeing you in March 2026, and we thank you for your cooperation to enable everyone to have a healthy experience.

*AAAL 2065 is a family friendly event. If you are in one of our family friendly designated spaces (i.e., the family resting area or mother’s room) masks are strongly recommended.

Dependent Children Event Attendance Policy

The AAAL Annual Conference is family friendly. We welcome your children and dependents to attend conference sessions and events. Our utmost concern is for the safety and security of our attendees and their children. For the purposes of this policy, “children” are defined as birth children, step children, adopted children, and dependents. If you are bringing children with you to the AAAL Conference, please note the following:

There will be a "create your own" name badge station for children who are with a registered attendee of the AAAL Conference.
For the safety of children attending AAAL, children under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult guardian at all times.
Children may be brought into all conference sessions. If the child becomes a serious distraction to other attendees, we ask that the parent step out to address the needs of the child and then reenter the session.
For safety reasons, children under 18 will not have access to the exhibition area during the move-in and move-out periods.
AAAL and the conference hotel are not able to provide childcare during the conference.
AAAL is not responsible or liable for any child or dependent attendees that are attending the AAAL 2026 Conference Sessions with a conference registrant. Each adult guardian is responsible for the supervision and safety of the accompanying child or dependent.

Photography Waiver

Registration and attendance at, or participation in, AAAL meetings and other activities constitutes an agreement by the registrant to AAAL's use and distribution (now and in the future) of the registrant or attendee’s image or voice in photographs, videotapes, electronic reproductions and audiotapes of such events and activities.

AAAL Privacy & Data Use Notice

For all AAAL Privacy & Data Use Notice, please click here.

Questions?

Please reach out to info@aaal.org if you have any questions about any of these policies.