Justice Dept. Extends Web Accessibility Deadline
Michelle Diament reported for Disability Scoop last month the Trump administration has kicked the can down the road regarding what was the late April deadline for compliance with web accessibility mandates under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Justice Department issued an interim final rule on the matter that extended the deadline a full year, with the new date set for April 26, 2027.
“The original rule, which the Justice Department finalized in 2024, imposes first-ever technical standards for websites and mobile apps under Title II of the ADA,” Diament wrote on April 20. “The requirements apply to online offerings from state and local government entities ranging from courts to public hospitals, parks, libraries, police, transit agencies, school districts, universities and more.”
According to Diament, school districts and other organizations felt immense pressure from the ruling who said they were “unprepared to meet the original timeline.” Likewise, the Justice Department noted it “overestimated the capabilities” of said organizations to comply with the law, both practically and technologically. Disability advocates, however, are choosing to view this give-us-more-time rationale as nothing more than excuses-laden lip service, arguing, according to Diament’s story, “the rule was under consideration for more than a decade before it was finalized and that delaying its implementation will harm the very individuals who it is intended to help.”
“Years of notice have not been enough, and now the department is rewarding inaction with more time,” Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said in a statement to Diament. “Every year of delay is another year that a person who is blind cannot apply for the benefits they’re owed, that a person with an intellectual or developmental disability cannot navigate a local agency’s website, that a deaf constituent cannot access critical public safety information.”
In my opinion, both arguments can be true: there are challenges in complying and they were given ample warning. To comply with the Justice Department’s ruling is to spend a not-insignificant amount of money in ensuring your technology is up to par. By the same token, edicts like this wouldn’t be necessary if there didn’t exist structural ableism such that school districts and the like viewed accessibility as this ancillary, extraneous thing to be bolted on at a later date—quite literally so in this case. Put another way, the needs of people with disabilities are, by and large, ill-considered unless and until some governmental entity of authority says to consider it—and more often than not, compulsion towards compliance is more motivation of avoiding lawsuits than it is about engendering empathy and inclusiveness. Look no further for a real world proof of concept than 99.9% of so-called “accessible” hotel rooms strewn across America. Many, arguably the majority, do just enough such that the bare minimum qualifications are met—again, to comply with the ADA to avoid getting sued.
I interviewed Town back in 2020 to discuss the ADA turning 30, Covid-19, and more.
