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In April 2024, the US Department of Justice issued a final rule strengthening and clarifying the accessibility requirements for state and local government websites under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The rule specifies that these websites must follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, an internationally recognized set of standards that cover a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, learning, and neurological disabilities.
Accessible web design shows a commitment to ensuring all community members have equitable access to your site. Failing to follow best practices—even unintentionally—could exclude the 13% of Americans who have disabilities from accessing vital information and services (not to mention open you up to lawsuits).
What does that mean for you?
Entities with a population of less than 50,000 people and special districts will have until April 26, 2027, to get their sites ADA-compliant, while those with 50,000 or more will have until April 24, 2026.
This article is your guide to understanding and achieving ADA compliance for your state or local government website.
You will learn:
- The essential elements of ADA compliance for your agency’s website.
- Practical steps to ensure your website meets these standards.
- Tools and strategies to ensure compliance.
Let’s explore how you can serve your community better through web accessibility.
ADA Requirements for State and Local Government Websites
There are three levels of WCAG compliance: A, AA, and AAA. A is “minimal compliance,” AA is “acceptable compliance,” and AAA is “optimal compliance.” Most websites—government or otherwise—are not expected to meet Level AAA, as it’s not practical for all forms of content.
Let’s examine some of the WCAG 2.1 AA requirements that most often arise when designing government websites.
People with limited mobility may not be able to operate a mouse, so they should be able to navigate through your site using just their keyboard—typically moving through content with up/down arrows and the tab key.
- Videos should have captions or transcripts to be accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Text-based image descriptions or ALT text should be included for images that convey meaning (in other words, aren’t just decorative). This allows people who are blind or others who use screen readers to understand the image’s purpose.
- If meaning is conveyed through shape, color, size, or other visual components, it should also be explained in an alternate format that can be read by a screen reader or understood by people who are colorblind.
A luminescence ratio of 4.5:1 allows most colorblind people to distinguish between colors, although large text may require less and small text may require more.
W3.org explains: “Ensuring that repeated components occur in the same order on each page of a site helps users become comfortable predicting where they can find things on each page. This helps users with cognitive limitations, low vision, intellectual disabilities, and blindness.”
Items such as status messages (for example, text that appears telling the user that an email address they’ve entered is invalid), field labels, and so on should be coded in an accessible format.
The hyperlinked text should identify the purpose or content of the link.
Text can be enlarged to 200%, and spacing can be increased without losing functionality. This allows users with low sight or dyslexia to read text more easily.
If any content on a page has a time limit (for example, a form times out if it isn’t submitted within 5 minutes), the user must be able to extend or turn off the time limit.
Discover how Pottawatomie County reduced permit turnaround time by an estimated 80%.
Tools and Strategies for Achieving ADA Compliance for Websites
Achieving ADA compliance on your government site requires thorough planning, execution, and ongoing evaluation. Fortunately, several tools and strategies can make this process more manageable.
Let’s examine a hypothetical example to see how a government agency might continuously improve its website’s accessibility.
Imagine the City of Evergreen—a medium-sized city known for its community engagement and digital inclusivity efforts. Despite their best efforts, the digital services team at Evergreen recently received feedback through their website’s accessibility statement form from Alex, a local resident who uses a screen reader due to visual impairment. Alex reported difficulties navigating the city’s online service for renewing parking permits, a key feature for city residents.
Taking this feedback seriously, the City of Evergreen’s digital services team sprang into action. First, they used an automated accessibility evaluation tool, UserWay, to quickly identify glaring issues, such as missing alt text on buttons and insufficient color contrast on form fields. However, knowing that automated tools have limitations, the team also conducted manual testing, simulating the navigation experience of a user relying on a screen reader.
The insights were eye-opening. The team realized that beyond the technical fixes, the site’s navigation structure could be more intuitive for those using assistive technologies. In response, they organized a focus group, including users with various disabilities, to gather direct feedback on the proposed navigation improvements. (Of course, they paid their focus group for their time and effort.)
Armed with comprehensive insights, the City of Evergreen’s team implemented a series of enhancements:
- Added descriptive alt text and actionable elements to all images.
- Increased color contrast to meet WCAG guidelines.
- Restructured the website’s navigation based on user feedback, ensuring logical flow and easy access.
The feedback on the site’s changes was overwhelmingly positive, with Alex noting the significant improvements in usability and accessibility.
The City of Evergreen didn’t stop there. They recognized the importance of continuous improvement and committed to regular accessibility audits, staff training sessions on web accessibility, and maintaining an open line of communication with the community for feedback.
Let’s break down the steps the City of Evergreen took to draw some lessons for making your government website more accessible.
Keep accessibility in mind from the start. It’s never a good idea to design a website first and then try to retrofit it with accessibility features. Thinking and planning for accessibility from the start will keep your web developers from having to re-design or re-code elements from scratch.
Use automated accessibility evaluation tools. Numerous online tools can help you automatically evaluate your website’s compliance with ADA standards. While these tools can’t catch every issue, they’re an excellent first step in identifying major accessibility barriers. Tools like UserWay, WAVE, AXE, and Google Lighthouse provide detailed reports that highlight areas for improvement.
Gain user feedback. Automated tools have their limits. Incorporating manual testing and user feedback, especially from people with disabilities, offers invaluable insights into the user experience. This approach can uncover nuanced accessibility issues that automated tools may overlook.
Hire accessibility consultants. Sometimes, the complexity of making a website fully compliant can be overwhelming—especially if it wasn’t designed with accessibility in mind from the start. Hiring accessibility consultants or services can provide the expertise to navigate these challenges effectively. These professionals can offer comprehensive evaluations, training for your team, and solutions tailored to your specific needs.
Train your staff. Your team must be knowledgeable about accessibility standards. Invest in training for your web developers, content creators, and management on ADA compliance and web accessibility best practices. This can include workshops, webinars, and online courses.
Develop an accessibility policy. Establishing a clear accessibility policy sets the tone for your agency’s commitment to ADA compliance. This policy should outline your agency’s standards and processes for maintaining compliance. Post it somewhere visible on your site and provide users with a way to report features that may not be accessible to themselves or others.
Continuously monitor and update. Digital accessibility is an ongoing effort. Regularly review your website for new content or changes that might introduce accessibility issues. Furthermore, as website technologies evolve, the technical aspects of what you need to do to remain accessible may change as well. Implementing a schedule for periodic audits can help maintain compliance over time.
Exceptions: When Does WCAG 2.1 Not Apply to Government Websites?
There are a few instances where the content of your website does not need to conform to the WCAG 2.1 requirement (see page 8 of the rule). Some key examples include:
Archived content. For instance, meeting minutes before the rule takes effect don’t need to be retroactively made accessible.
Pre-existing electronic documents, unless they are being used to make services available to the public.
Older social media content. While you should plan to make your social posts accessible in the future, there’s no need to go back and (for instance) add alt text to old images.
However, if a person with a disability requests that you do so, you should provide any content to them in an accessible format—even if it falls under one of these exemptions.
A Culture of Accessibility and Continuous Improvement
Even the WCAG guidelines acknowledge that it may not be possible to make accommodations for “all types, degrees, and combinations of disability.” But with these tools and strategies, your agency can not only meet the current standards for ADA compliance for government websites, but also foster a culture of accessibility that benefits all users. This proactive approach ensures that your digital services remain accessible to everyone, reflecting your commitment to inclusive public service.
Learn More
At GovBuilt, we want to help you foster a digital space that welcomes all community members. Every government website we create meets WCAG 2.2 AA (a more recent and higher standard than that currently required by the ADA), and we thoroughly test each site with UserWay before launch.
Is your website due for a rebuild, either because of accessibility problems or other concerns? Fill out the form below to talk to one of our consultants about the benefits of a modern, easy-to-use GovBuilt website!