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ADA Title II - websites

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From: Bourne, Sarah (ITD)
Date: May 3, 2016 2:02PM

While we were awaiting the final rule setting WCAG2 AA as the technical standard for state and local government websites under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Department of Justice recalled the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Last we heard, they had filed it with the Office of Management and Budget in July 2014.
They have replaced it with a "Supplemental Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SANPRM) titled Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities." It has 123 questions. 123! They will be accepting comments for 90 days after it appears in the Federal Register, which should be any day now.
They point out that they consider websites to be covered by the ADA: "Although the language of the ADA does not explicitly mention the Internet, the Department has taken the position that title II covers Internet Web site access." and "The Department has enforced the ADA in the area of [Web site] accessibility on a case-by-case basis ... and will continue to do so until the issue is addressed in a final regulation." Just without specific guidance.
If you are wondering if this has a direct bearing on you, please note that it includes "public educational institutions", covering k12 and colleges/universities, as well as non-federal U.S. government entities of all sizes.
Notice: http://www.ada.gov/regs2016/sanprm_statement.html
SANPRM: http://www.ada.gov/regs2016/sanprm.html
sb
Sarah E. Bourne
Director of IT Accessibility, MassIT
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
617-626-4502
<EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
http://www.mass.gov/MassIT