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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity." 42 U.S.C. 12132. However, many public entities' (i.e., State and local governments') websites and mobile apps fail to incorporate or activate features that enable users with disabilities to access the public entity’s services, programs, and activities.  The Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to amend its title II ADA regulation to provide technical standards to assist public entities in complying with their existing obligations to make their websites and mobile apps accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Department is working to issue a final regulation on this topic.

Statement of Need:

Just as steps exclude people who use wheelchairs from a building, inaccessible websites or mobile apps can exclude people with a range of disabilities from accessing critical State and local government services, programs, and activities.   The Department is proposing technical requirements to provide concrete standards to public entities on how to fulfill their obligations under title II to provide access to all of their services, programs, and activities that are offered via the web or mobile apps.  The Department believes the requirements described in this rule are necessary to ensure the equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities as set forth in the ADA.  42 U.S.C.  12101(a)(7).  This is particularly necessary now that public entities increasingly rely on the web and mobile apps to provide their services, programs, and activities.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

The summary of the legal basis for this regulation is set forth in the above abstract.

Alternatives:

There are no appropriate alternatives to issuing this rule.  In the NPRM, the Department discussed various regulatory proposals that would ensure full access to websites and mobile apps of State and local governments and solicited public comments on these proposals. The Department will continue to evaluate these proposals as it works to issue a final regulation.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

The Department anticipates that this rule will be economically significant (that is, that the rule will have an annual effect on the economy of $200 million or more, or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local or tribal governments or communities). However, the Department believes that revising its title II rule to clarify the obligations of State and local governments to provide accessible websites and mobile apps will significantly increase equal access by providing citizens with disabilities the opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, State and local government services, programs, and activities. It will also ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to important services and information that are provided over the web or through mobile apps, such as benefits applications and emergency information. In drafting its NPRM, the Department attempted to minimize the compliance costs to State and local governments while maximizing the benefits of compliance to persons with disabilities and the Department will consider public comments it received on this issue when promulgating its final rule.

Risks:

If the Department does not revise its ADA title II regulations to address website and mobile app accessibility, persons with disabilities in many communities will continue to be unable to access their State and local governments' services, programs, and activities in the same manner as citizens without disabilities, and in some cases persons with disabilities will not be able to access those services at all. Furthermore, State and local governments will not have specific information about how to meet their ADA obligations with respect to website and mobile app accessibility.