Last Monday, the Department of Justice issued its final rule for state and local government web accessibility. This rule will soon be published in the Federal Register and large public entities will have two years to make their websites and mobile apps conform to WCAG 2.1 A/AA. Smaller public entities will have three years.
Big Problem...Bigger Opportunity
Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities by “public entities.” Along with state governments and agencies, local governments—including tiny municipalities (some with only a few dozen residents) are included.
I’m not highly worried about large American cities ability to comply with the new web accessibility rule. Large cities have dozens (sometimes even hundreds) of separate domains for their web services, but they also have a lot of knowledge and resources. I’m not saying that it is going to be easy for big cities to meet the two-year deadline; I think it will be easier for them to muster the knowledge and resources to tackle the challenge.
On the other hand, I’m quite concerned about how smaller rural counties and towns are going to meet their compliance deadline in three years. Many states have already had experience with meeting web accessibility requirements as part of their own accessibility policies and rules. I'm calling upon these states to channel their expertise and resources towards helping make sure that their municipalities are supported in meeting their accessibility regulatory requirements.
Towns like Dixville Notch (the most famous small town in America) are likely to need support to make their website accessible. It’s enough of a challenge just getting small towns like this to even be aware that they are required to make their website accessible! The opportunities in doing so, however, are immense. Web and digital technologies are becoming the primary—and sometimes exclusive—way that organizations are delivering services. If web sites are accessible, municipalities can eliminate many barriers that make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to access services because they can be accessed from anywhere. These opportunities are particularly dramatic in smaller, rural communities where people may live far away from town centers and public transportation and public services are not readily available as in more urban areas.
Purpose and Contents of This Blog Series
This post is the first in a series that will talk about how states can make it easier for public entities in their borders to comply with the new DOJ requirements. Because each state follows its own processes, what works in one state won’t necessarily work in other states. Instead, this post pulls together ideas that we’ve seen work in different states and in the federal government. It will also include some of the ideas and strategies we (Converge Accessibility) have implemented as consultants, as we’ve been working with state and local governments and supporting them in making their digital assets accessible.
Over the next few weeks, we will write about the following ideas:
- Opening large, statewide procurement vehicles and tools for municipalities,
- Leveraging the new ADA requirements (or laws like Colorado’s HB 21-1110) as a competitive advantage for vendors,
- Offering practical, centralized advice for municipalities of different sizes on how to create a roadmap for compliance, and
- How to use tools like automated testing in a practical way for compliance.
Stay tuned!
Disclaimer
Nothing in this post should be interpreted as legal advice or as forming an attorney-client relationship. It is offered for educational purposes only. You should always contact a qualified attorney in your area to discuss your legal rights and responsibilities.
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