Colorado HB21–1110 Compliance Guide: Digital Accessibility Requirements

Introduction to House Bill 21–1110

House Bill 21–1110 represents a significant expansion of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA). This expansion grants the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) statutory authority to establish standards for digital technology.

In response to this directive, the OIT has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 version AA as its standard. While the Colorado State website refers to WCAG as the “newest version,” it’s important to note that 2.2 was recently released.

WCAG

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are technical standards designed to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Although the standards are written for web-based assets, the principles in WCAG apply across all forms of digital technology.

State and Local Government Compliance

State agencies and local governments must comply with requirements set out under HB21–1110 by the OIT by July 1, 2024. These public entities must conform to WCAG 2.1 AA for all internal and external digital technology including websites, software, applications, documents, PDFs, etc.

Accessibility in procurement of technology is also required.

Resources and Support for Compliance

The sheer volume of resources and requirements may be overwhelming for state agencies and local governments. To address this, the OIT has put considerable effort into providing resources for compliance available on the Colorado state website.

Additionally, WCAG training is available on ADACompliance.net. And Accessible.org can provide website accessibility audit, remediation, and user testing services to help Colorado agencies and governments with compliance.

July 1, 2024 Deadline

With the compliance deadline of July 1, 2024, taking immediate action is crucial. The process of making digital assets accessible can be time-consuming, and with a service provider such as accessible.org, several weeks, if not multiple months may be needed to complete remediation.

Conclusion

House Bill 21–11 marks a significant step forward in ensuring access to digital technology. While the requirements for compliance may seem overwhelming, the Colorado OIT has done a great job in providing numerous resources and welcoming questions.

If you need to source your initial digital accessibility efforts to become compliant ASAP, feel free to contact me at Accessible.org.