On August 4, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would update federal
regulations governing
Title II of the American Disability Act (ACA). Title II of
the ADA requires state and local governments to ensure that
individuals with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity
to benefit from all state and local programs, services, and
activities. DOJ’s proposed regulations adopt an internationally
recognized technical standard that state and local governments
would have to follow to meet their existing obligations under
Title II of the ADA for website and mobile application
accessibility.
Who does this affect?
The proposed regulation would apply to public entities as defined
under Title II of the ADA, namely state and local governments, as
well as any department, agency, special purpose entity, or other
instrumentality of a state.
What do the proposed regulations require,
specifically?
Among other provisions, state and local websites and mobile apps
would need to comply with the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG), Version 2.1 AA. Notably, these WCAG
guidelines are already the governing standards for both Title II
and Title III of the ADA (state & local governments, and
businesses).
There are several exceptions to the requirements, such as “The
proposed requirements in the NPRM would not apply to any actions
that would result in a fundamental alteration of a service,
program, or activity of a covered entity, or impose undue
financial and administrative burdens. Such a determination would
need to be made by the head of the public entity, or his or her
designee.”
What is the timeframe for compliance?
Public entities with a population of 50,000 or more (per the U.S.
Census Bureau) would need to comply within two years of the
publication of the final rule. Entities with a population of less
than 50,000, as well as special district governments, would have
up to three years to come into compliance.
How can local governments provide feedback?
Before choosing a specific conformance standard, the DOJ requests
public comment on the proposed regulations and included 67
questions throughout the draft language. The questions are
included to help the public provide comments that are specific
and will provide the most assistance to the DOJ. Formal
comments are due by 9:00PM on Tuesday, October 3, 2023,
and can be submitted via Regulations.gov.
