Below is a selected expert from a blog post AEM co-authored with the Georgia Tech Center for Inclusive Design & Innovation and posted through the Rhonda Weiss Center for Accessible Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Data. The post explores updates to the Title II regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how state and local governments can ensure compliance. This post was co-authored by AEM's Charlie Silva and Johan Rempel from the Georgia Tech Center for Inclusive Design & Innovation.
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice took significant strides in advancing accessibility by updating the Title II regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This pivotal revision underscores the Justice Department's ongoing commitment to eliminating barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from accessing essential government services, programs, and activities. This is the first time in the history of the ADA, which was signed into law in 1990, that specific language and a set of technical standards addressing digital content have been included.
It is important to keep in mind that the World Wide Web only became available to the public in 1991. Although some language within the ADA has been applied to web and mobile access such as “places of reasonable accommodation,” it was impossible for the founders of the ADA to have predicted the digital revolution on the horizon. Under Title II of the ADA, all state and local governments, including school systems, are now explicitly required to make their web content, mobile apps, and social media postings accessible for individuals with disabilities.
The new technical standard, WCAG 2.1 (Level AA), is referenced in a fact sheet recently released by the ADA. WCAG is the abbreviation used for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a robust set of guidelines developed through the Worldwide Web Consortium and recognized by countries throughout the world. It is important to be aware that WCAG 2.1 (Level AA) exceeds the existing requirements of Section 508, which cites WCAG 2.0 (Level AA), an older version. Simply conforming to Section 508 compliance is therefore no longer sufficient to meet the legal requirements outlined under Title II of the ADA.
Read more on who these new rules apply to, the timelines for compliance, steps to meet Title II compliance, and how the Weiss Center can support you here.
