Department of Justice Rule High Level Summary

See New Rule Factsheet for additional information.

Main Summary

The Department of Justice (“Department”) issues its final rule revising the
regulation implementing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) to establish specific requirements, including the adoption of specific technical standards, for making accessible the services, programs, and activities offered by State and local government entities to the public through the web and mobile applications (“apps”).

Date Effective: 04/24/2024

The rule was published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2034.

Compliance Date: 04/24/2026

A public entity, with a total population of 50,000 or more shall begin complying with this rule two years after rule publication date in the Federal Register. Penn State is included in this deadline.

Compliance Minimum Guideline:

WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements – Penn State is currently moving to WCAG 2.2 AA.

Subpart H:

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is creating a new subpart in its Title II regulation. Subpart H addresses the accessibility of public entities’ web content and mobile apps

Covered Information and Communication Technology (ICT):

Web content is defined by § 35.104 to mean the information and sensory experience to be communicated to the user by means of a user agent (e.g., a web browser),

• Code or markup that defines the content’s structure, presentation, and interactions. This includes,
• text
• images
• sounds
• videos
• controls
• animations
• conventional electronic documents
• portable document formats (“PDF”), word processor file formats, presentation file formats, and spreadsheet file formats.
• mobile apps
• software applications that are downloaded and designed to run on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets

Exceptions:

DOJ has five specific exceptions from compliance with the technical standard required under § 35.200:

1. archived web content
   • Was created before the date the public entity is required to comply with this rule, reproduces paper documents created before the date the public entity is required to comply with this rule, or reproduces the contents of other physical media created before the date the public entity is required to comply with this rule;
   • Is retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping;
   • Is not altered or updated after the date of archiving; and
   • Is organized and stored in a dedicated area or areas clearly identified as being archived.
2. preexisting conventional electronic documents,
• Conventional electronic documents that are available as part of a public entity’s web content or mobile apps before the date the public entity is required to comply with this rule, unless such documents are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in the public entity’s services, programs, or activities.
3. content posted by a third party,
   • This means that, for example, when a public entity posts links to third-party web content on the public entity’s website, the links located on the public entity’s website and the organization of the public entity’s website must comply with § 35.200. Further, when a public entity links to third-party web content that is provided by the public entity, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, the public entity is also responsible for ensuring the accessibility of that linked content.
   • Unless the third party is poste due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the public entity and part of the public entity’s services, programs, or activities, that content does not need to meet the new rule guidelines
4. Individualized, password-protected or otherwise secured conventional electronic documents. Conventional electronic documents that are:
   • About a specific individual, their property, or their account; and
   • Password-protected or otherwise secured.
5. preexisting social media posts
   • A public entity’s social media posts that were posted before the date the public entity is required to comply with this rule.

…if one of these exceptions applies, then the public entity’s web content or content in mobile apps that is covered by an exception would not need to comply with the rule’s technical standard.

However, upon request from a specific individual, a public entity may have to provide the web content or content in mobile apps to that individual in an accessible format to comply with the entity’s existing obligations under other regulatory provisions implementing Title II of the ADA

Rule Feasibility and Flexibility:

The final rule contains a series of other mechanisms that are designed to make it feasible for public entities to comply with the rule.

Alternate Versions

• The final rule makes clear in § 35.202 the limited circumstances in which “conforming alternate versions” of web content, as defined in WCAG 2.1, can be used as a means of achieving accessibility
• Conforming alternate versions are permissible only when it is not possible to make web content directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations

Fundamental Alteration and Undue Burden

Additionally, the final rule in § 35.200(b)(1) and (2) and § 35.204 explains that conformance to WCAG 2.1 Level AA is not required under Title II of the ADA to the extent that such conformance would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity of the public entity or in undue financial and administrative burdens

Minimal Impact

• The final rule also explains in § 35.205 the limited circumstances in which a public entity that is not in full compliance with the technical standard will be deemed to have met the requirements of this rule A public entity will be deemed to have satisfied its obligations under § 35.200 in the limited
• circumstance in which the public entity can demonstrate that its nonconformance to the technical standard has such a minimal impact on access that it would not affect the ability of individuals with disabilities to use the public entity’s web content or mobile app

  **to access the same information, engage in the same interactions, conduct the same transactions, and otherwise participate in or benefit from the same services, programs, and activities as individuals without disabilities, in a manner that provides substantially equivalent timeliness, privacy, independence, and ease of use**

Top of Page

Last Update: May 6, 2024