New DOJ Ruling Clarifies & Enforces ADA Digital Accessibility Requirements

In a historic and exciting ruling, the United States Department of Justice bolsters the digital accessibility requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

What Did the Department of Justice Decide?  

On April 8, 2024, Merrick B. Garland, the US Attorney General and head of the Department of Justice, signed a final rule requiring government websites and mobile applications to be accessible to people with disabilities.  

This is important because although courts had previously ruled that the ADA applied to digital accessibility, there wasn't a clear standard to which state and local governments could be held accountable. This ruling tells governments precisely what they need to do to make their websites and apps accessible, using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. 

What is the ADA? What does Title II do? Why Does the Ruling Matter?   

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an important law that protects the rights of people with disabilities. The ADA is divided into different sections called 'titles'. This ruling affects Title II, which says no individual with a disability should be excluded from participation in or denied benefits of services, programs, or activities provided by State or local government entities. This includes public education, employment, transportation, recreation, health care, social services, courts, voting, town meetings, etc.   

Although Title II demands that people with disabilities have equal access to these programs, government websites and mobile app-based services are not designed to be accessible, creating barriers that prevent equal access for individuals with disabilities. Accessible websites and mobile apps are essential to ensure quick, easy, independent, private, and equal access to important government services.   

This ruling brings clarity and sets expectations for making websites and apps accessible. By implementing needed changes, individuals with disabilities can fully participate in public programs and services, significantly improving their day-to-day lives in communities nationwide.  

What is the New Accessibility Standard?  

The Department will use the internationally recognized accessibility standard for web access, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1). This standard applies to web content and mobile apps and, as of this ruling, is the required standard for public entities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Public entities must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements for accessibility.  

What is the deadline for compliance?  

Depending on the size of a state or local government, they have slightly different deadlines to implement accessibility changes. Once this rule is officially adopted and added to our Federal Register of rules, which should be very soon, governments have 2-3 years to make changes. 

• If a state or local government serves more than 50,000 people, they must make their website and mobile apps accessible in two years.  
• If the government serves less than 50,000 people, they have three years to make its website and apps accessible.  

Resources 

• Read DOJ’s Press Release 
• ASL Interpretation of the Department of Justice press release 
• Read the DOJ's “advance copy” of the rule 
• Signly, our website’s ASL interpretation service, will add ASL translation soon.