New rules dramatically expanding the purview of the Americans with Disabilities Act are supposed to start taking effect later this month, but now disability advocates are worried that federal officials might be considering a delay.
The U.S. Department of Justice finalized regulations in 2024 imposing first-ever technical standards for websites and mobile apps under Title II of the ADA. The requirements apply to online offerings from state and local governments, which can include everything from police and courts to public hospitals, parks, libraries, transit agencies, school districts and universities.
The rule is intended to address longstanding barriers experienced by people with disabilities as American life has increasingly shifted online.
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“Just as stairs can exclude people who use wheelchairs from accessing government buildings, inaccessible web content and mobile apps can exclude people with a range of disabilities from accessing government services,” officials said in the 2024 rule.
The regulation noted that government websites allow members of the public to apply for state benefits, register to vote, access mass transit schedules and much more.
Starting April 24, the new rules are set to apply to state and local governments in areas with populations of 50,000 or greater. Public entities with smaller populations have an extra year to comply.
Even as the deadline approaches, however, there are signs that the Justice Department could be considering changes to the rule. The agency indicated last spring that it planned to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking “to reconsider whether some of the regulatory provisions imposed by the April 24, 2024 rule could be made less costly.” Then, in February, the Justice Department sent an interim final rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget, according to Jennifer Mathis, deputy director at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.
“Given the timing of this and the fact that they decided to proceed with an interim final rule rather than the proposed rule they had initially planned, it seems very likely that this rule is designed to extend the impending deadline for larger entities coming into compliance with the rule,” Mathis said. “There may be other aspects of the rule that the department is trying to change as well.”
Justice Department officials did not respond to a request for comment about the status of the rule, but in recent weeks they’ve been meeting with a variety of stakeholders. Groups such as the National Association of Counties and the National League of Cities are pressing for an implementation delay, exemptions for entities with populations under 10,000 and other changes citing concerns including cost and technical difficulties.
“Counties strongly support the goals of accessibility. However, counties have encountered significant barriers in pursuing compliance,” the National Association of Counties said in letter to the Office of Management and Budget.
As of early last week, the Office of Management and Budget indicated that its regulatory review concluded. It is unclear if or when an interim final rule could be released.
Disability advocates, however, say there is no reason to reconsider the 2024 rule.
“Covered entities have had two years to come into compliance with the rule, and it is extremely troubling that the department would try to change or extend the rule just as it is about to go into effect,” said Mathis with the Bazelon Center. “People with disabilities deserve better.”
It a letter to the Trump administration, the National Federation of the Blind noted that the Justice Department first sought input from state and local governments on the rule as it was being developed back in 2010 and the agency requested comment multiple times before it was finalized in 2024.
“There is no basis for reconsidering the website rule, which has already gone through fourteen years of consideration, public input, and adjustment, and which is based on a requirement in existence for nearly fifty years. Additionally, public entities have had nearly thirty-six years to prepare for the requirements that were initially established in the ADA, clarified by the final rule, and have been actively requested by stakeholders on all sides,” wrote Mark A. Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind. “Conversely, delaying or amending the regulation at this point would severely harm blind and other disabled Americans by denying us access to important civic information.”
