On April 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an interim final rule (IFR) extending the compliance dates for state and local governments by one year to be compliant with requirements for web content and mobile application accessibility that were adopted on April 24, 2024.
Advocacy supports the DOJ’s proposed extension of accessibility requirements for government websites, which will provide immediate, temporary relief for small businesses. During this period, however, the DOJ should withdraw this rulemaking. The DOJ’s 2024 final rule extending Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to cover website accessibility for state and local governments exceeds its statutory authority under both Supreme Court decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and West Virginia s. EPA because Congress has not clearly authorized regulations in this area. If the DOJ does not withdraw this rule, Advocacy urges the agency, at a minimum, to adopt regulatory alternatives that reduce the rule’s impact on small governments. Advocacy recognizes the importance of small governments’ websites and mobile applications being accessible to people with disabilities. However, we are concerned that the expense, resource constraints, and litigation risks created by this rule are causing small governments to remove pertinent material or deactivate websites completely, thereby depriving all citizens of access to important information about government services. To address these concerns, Advocacy recommends that the DOJ consider exempting small governments with a population of fewer than 10,000 from this rulemaking. Advocacy also recommends that the DOJ provide safe harbors to reduce litigation risks to small governments.
COMMENT LETTER:
Docket No. CRT150 Extension of Compliance Dates for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability
(PDF, 327 KB)
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Janis Reyes
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