All Parts of the Colorado Government Must Embrace Digital Accessibility by July 1, 2024
Two years can feel like a long way off… until it’s a month away from the deadline. If you work at a Colorado government entity and you haven’t made an effort to comply with the new accessibility law, it’s time to start preparing for the July 1, 2024, deadline now.
What is HB21-1110 Colorado Law for Persons with Disabilities?
HB21-1110 is a new interpretation of Colorado’s existing laws against discrimination toward people with disabilities. Now, the law states that:
- It is discrimination to exclude an individual with a disability from participation in or being denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities provided by any Colorado government entity.
- It is discrimination for any Colorado government entity to fail to develop an accessibility plan by July 1, 2022, and to fail to fully comply with accessibility standards developed by OIT by July 1, 2024.
Every part of the Colorado government will need to make digital content “that is used by the public or used by a government entity employee” accessible per the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. This digital content could be websites, applications, kiosks, digital signage, documents, video, audio, third-party tools, text, links, images, forms, PDFs, documents, embedded third-party applications, and more.
Unlike past Colorado legislation on accessibility, these new laws will require accessibility for all disabilities and have a clear system of enforcement and consequences for inaccessible digital content.
Putting accessibility in place will be a collaboration; The Governor’s Office of Information Technology “will provide resources, training on the state standards, and tools to assist with accessibility, but state agencies and local governments will need to implement the changes and improvements to their digital content.” Governmental entities may also request funding to help put accessibility in place before the July 1, 2024, deadline.
Let TPGi’s accessibility experts help you achieve accessibility conformance before the 2024 deadline. Contact us today!