Scheduled at 9:00 am in Mattie Silks on Thursday, November 14.
#39568Speaker(s)
- Ken Nakata, Principal, Converge Accessibility
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: Intermediate
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice amended its ADA Title II regulations to require all state and local government entities to meet WCAG 2.1 A/AA within two years (three years for smaller municipalities). This presentation discusses the new regulations, why its scope may surprise colleges and universities already focused on web accessibility, and how to prepare.
Abstract
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice amended its ADA Title II regulations to require all state and local government entities to meet WCAG 2.1 A/AA within two years (three years for smaller municipalities). This marks the first time that the Department of Justice has officially stated in a Federal regulation that public entities need to conform to WCAG 2.1 A/AA.
This presentation starts with a description of what the new regulation covers and what it excludes. It also describes its importance—and why it is much more significant than settlement agreements previously reached by the Department of Justice or the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. While colleges and universities have worked hard to make their student-facing digital content accessibility to students with disabilities, the new DOJ regulations suddenly puts all of their other web content and mobile applications under scrutiny.
Next, our presentation will shift to practical steps that public entities can take to meet this requirement. Here, the presenter will focus on his experience helping cities and counties in Colorado meet its HB 21-1110, which requires all Colorado local governments to meet WCAG 2.1 A/AA by July 2024—two years ahead of the new Department of Justice regulation. From working with these public entities, the presenter will describe how any state and local organization can prioritize and test technologies based on risk, eliminate the vast majority of barriers by shifting the burden to its vendors, how to use automated testing to be more independently actionable by government staff, and how to avoid problems with the right training and right solutions.
Keypoints
- Understanding what the new Title II web regulations cover—and don’t cover
- Understand how past efforts at accessibility may not address the new challenge created by the DOJ regulation
- Practical steps your organization can take to stay ahead of the new DOJ regulation
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Legal, Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Ken Nakata
Ken Nakata is a technology-focused civil rights attorney. His work focuses on web accessibility from both a legal and technical perspective. He also helps organizations manage the change towards accessibility in all aspects-including crafting policies, developing stakeholder ownership, and forging awareness and commitment to the legal and business case supporting accessibility. Ken worked for twelve years as a Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. He has argued on behalf of the United States government many times before the federal courts and has helped shape the government’s policies for the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. In addition to litigation, he also helped developed many of the Department’s policies, including Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities and which reflects the Department’s current view towards ADA compliance for state and local government websites. Ken is a frequent speaker on both law and technology and is equally adept at conducting one-on-one workshops with programmers and developers as well as explaining law and policy to large audiences. He is a Founding and former Board Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). Ken is admitted to the bars of New York, Washington, and the District of Columbia and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He also received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from the Johns Hopkins University. He is also certified as a privacy professional with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Principals (CPACP) with the IAAP, and a Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform.