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From: Bourne, Sarah (ITD)
Date: Tue, May 03 2016 2:02PM
Subject: ADA Title II - websites
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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 ADDRESS REMOVED = <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
http://www.mass.gov/MassIT

From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Tue, May 03 2016 4:32PM
Subject: Re: ADA Title II - websites
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Sarah, thank you for sharing this information that applies to state and local public entities.

I'll also add that the supplementary advanced notice of proposal as I read it would also address accessibility of documents as well with some exceptions for pre-existing documents (although these would still need to be made accessible on request). Pre-existing documents also that were necessary to access services would be covered though. So, if what is being proposed is adopted in general new documents would need to be made accessible and WCAG 2 A and AA conformant without the user having to request and accessible version.

Also, of significance is that the DOJ indicates they may not consider a phone line equivalent access to 24/7 website access to services. This is a trend I am seeing from the DOJ -- that you can no longer just say you can call in during business hours and we'll help you -- organizations must make their ICT accessible by default without simply saying they provide an alternative but unequal method of access. They also set a higher bar for determining when alternative content can be used in place of making web content WCAG 2 A and AA conformant.

Furthermore, the DOJ askes about mobile app accessibility and whether they should be considered for inclusion. So it would be great if people could respond to that.

Finally as Sarah points out, educational materials and information from school districts is included. This is a big issue and something that has simmered for some time. Not only would public information be required to be accessible but information behind a password would be as long as a student w/ a disability is enrolled in the course. And DOJ indicates parents w/ disabilities have rights to accessible content as well. For open courses that are generally available to the public the content would need to be accessible without a specific person with a disability enrolling.

Best regards,

Jonathan

Jonathan Avila
Chief Accessibility Officer
SSB BART Group 
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703.637.8957 (Office)

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From: Bourne, Sarah (ITD)
Date: Mon, May 09 2016 8:06AM
Subject: Re: ADA Title II - websites
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Update: the 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 has now been published in the Federal Register. Comments are due by August 8, 2016.

I encourage any of you involved with for state and local government websites, including K-12 and other public education instructions, to review the SANPRM, and submit your comments if you have any. Many of their questions ask for data. (For instance, Question 4 asks for data on the availability of qualified accessibility professionals.) I would love to see any data folks dig up for any of the SANPRM questions.

Federal Register link:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/05/09/2016-10464/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-information-and-services-of-state
Shortened link in case email breaks it: http://tinyurl.com/h23cr7p

sb
Sarah E. Bourne
Director of IT Accessibility, MassIT
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
617-626-4502
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
http://www.mass.gov/MassIT