The Justice Department issued a final rule that strengthens web and mobile app access for people with disabilities; that rule clarifies the obligations of your regulatory agency for making your services, programs and activities accessible via your agency’s websites and mobile applications. Follow along as we sift through the changes in requirements and distill these down to a simple checklist for website accessibility. Then learn how to maximize GenAI as a tool at your agency to ensure equal access for everyone.
“It is critical to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access important web content and mobile apps quickly, easily, independently, privately, and equally,” explains the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in their final rule, published in April. “Accessible web content and mobile apps help to make this possible. By allowing individuals with disabilities to engage more fully with their governments, accessible web content and mobile apps also promote the equal enjoyment of fundamental constitutional rights, such as rights with respect to speech, assembly, association, petitioning, voting, and due process of law.”
As part of the final rule, the DOJ requires public entities to comply with the success criteria and conformance requirements outlined in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1. GL Solutions CEO Bill Moseley explains that “the rule basically says that regulatory agencies with online applications and renewals, verification sites, etc. must support WCAG 2.1 Level AA.”
According to Accessibility Spark, WCAG 2.1, introduced in 2018, evolved from WCAG 2.0, released in 2008. As outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, the 17 additional usability and accessibility standards focus on improving “accessibility guidance for three major groups: users with cognitive or learning disabilities, users with low vision, and users with disabilities on mobile devices.”
The new accessibility requirements laid out by the DOJ’s adoption of WCAG 2.1 focus on:
The accessibility requirements for websites place a strong emphasis on mobile accessibility. UsableNet, for example, points to a requirement related to the orientation of a device. “The site or app must work regardless of the orientation of the device,” they explain.
The DOJ’s rules for web accessibility also focus on keyboard accessibility. The WCAG 2.1 rule states: “make all functionality available from a keyboard.” The guidelines describe the specifics of keyboard shortcuts, along with the timing of keystrokes, for example.
The web accessibility standards aim to better support those with cognitive disabilities, offering certain accommodations to the user experience. The WCAG 2.1 document makes a reference to text-to-speech software, used by some people with cognitive disabilities to convert text to synthetic speech.
The guidelines also aim to make digital content more accessible to those with visual impairment. The document points to specific font sizes to use, acknowledging the character size seen by a user depends on both the author-defined size and user-defined settings.
The new technical standards address how to handle digital accessibility issues with new technologies, such as VR. Supporting documentation leaves open the ability to update these for emerging technologies.
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) recently released a report on artificial intelligence and accessibility, a publication that outlines use cases for increasing accessibility through GenAI. Revolutionizing Assistance: How States Can Improve Generative AI’s Role in Disability Empowerment offers key ways to maximize GenAI as a tool to expand access for all.
The report examines studies and scenarios that not only highlight the usefulness “of GenAI to revolutionize accessibility for people with disabilities”—but also the challenges. The paper points out the relevancy of the NASCIO report, noting the Justice Department’s recent final rule that details the rules states must follow to ensure accessible webpages and mobile apps.
As your regulatory agency works on using GenAI to help those with disabilities, NASCIO suggests considering four best practices:
For more information about the NASCIO publication, listen to the related podcast, Revolutionizing Assistance: New NASCIO Publication with Kalea Young-Gibson on NASCIO Voices. The author, Kalea-Young Gibson, talks about the publication and the recommendation she deems most critical.
According to the final rule document, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities, the rule took effect June 24. However, compliance dates vary by population of the public entity, with the earliest in 2026. “The when is the simpler part”, explains GovTech. “The short answer is between two and three years. Deadlines depend on a jurisdiction’s size, though. State and local governments serving fewer than 49,999 people have three years, while any governments larger than that have two.”
“Essentially, every piece of information on a government website must be accessible to everyone,” says GovTech. “The federal rule does make a few exceptions, including for things such as archived content, content posted by a third party and pre-existing social media posts.”
“GL Solutions takes a compliance first posture when it comes to cybersecurity and website accessibility. We watch for changing requirements and embed them into the core of our SaaS offering—before agencies even know a change is required. You can count on GL Solutions,” says GL Solutions’ CEO Bill Moseley.
We know the regulatory landscape is ever-changing and that you’ll need to adapt to new regulation and legislative requirements. With GL Solutions’ implementation process, we’re here for you every step of the way, with timely adjustments in our regulatory software solutions and expert guidance from our regulatory agency software advisors.
