The DOJ issued this final rule in April 2024, allowing the department to take action if state and local governments are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), requiring they meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1 Level AA standards. The rule dictated that these standards must be met by April 24 if a jurisdiction has over 50,000 residents, and those with smaller populations have an extra year.
However, the DOJ prefiled its Interim Final Rule on Friday, which offers state and local governments a one-year extension to comply. When this takes effect, expected Monday, state and local government entities with a population of 50,000 or more will have until April 26, 2027, to comply, and those with a population under 50,000 will have until April 26, 2028.
These documents are typically filed and then published in the Federal Register on the next business day.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has been working to educate counties by translating federal requirements into actionable steps government leaders can take. This will continue under the new timeline, NACo CIO John Matelski said in an email.
Although there will still be a 60-day public comment period, the new timeline is expected to take effect immediately upon publication, he said: “Counties should plan on that basis.”
While the public comment period may lead to future changes, he said those changes are typically limited in scope. As such, he recommended counties adjust timelines to meet the new deadline but remain flexible in the case additional guidance is released.
“While the updated deadlines provide an important milestone, compliance will be an ongoing process that requires sustained attention and adaptation over time,” Matelski said.
This extension does not come as a complete surprise. The DOJ had previously signaled that the rule could be modified in some way, according to Chris Gianutsos, managing director for business consulting at Ernst and Young LLP, but it was not clear at that time whether that would impact timing or other requirements.
The DOJ was “made aware of challenges related to the compliance dates,” according to the prefiling, due to the limited capacity of some organizations. Others believe the delay would penalize the institutions that have been working toward compliance.
Some governments have been working diligently to meet this deadline since the April 2024 ruling, trying to make thousands of PDFs accessible and updating procurement processes so vendors’ solutions are also in compliance.
Even so, readiness for the deadline varies. Some governments, like Colorado, had a head start to compliance because of a state-specific law mandating accessibility by July 2024. In other places, officials admitted that it was unlikely for many entities to achieve 100 percent compliance.
While the deadline extension means that the anticipated litigation for non-compliance will be delayed, there is still an urgent need for governments to ensure their digital products are usable for people with disabilities, as one-quarter of adults in the U.S. have a disability. Even though the timeline has been adjusted, a government’s ability to effectively serve all of its residents remains an important issue.
As Pennsylvania’s Chief Accessibility Officer Kris Adams previously told Government Technology, accessibility is “just as important as security.”
