Today many essential services are delivered primarily or exclusively online however if accessibility of those services is not maintained when it's becomes digital then it really does become a barrier instead of an opportunity. Two rules that advanced digital accessibility and inclusion across sectors were announced at a White House briefing on Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
We encourage you to watch the full White House event online to learn more about these important policy changes and hear from leaders within the disability and tech accessibility communities about the impact of these policies and emerging digital accessibility needs.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updates digital health rules
HHS published a new rule under section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 barring discrimination in health programs and activities, including digital health. This rule applies the same technical standards for websites, apps, and self-serve kiosks used by entities that receive HHS funding. This means that people with disabilities will be able to access their online medical records or use the check-in kiosk at a hospital independently and privately.
Department of Justice updates the ADA for websites and mobile apps
The Department of Justice (DOJ) published a final rule under title two of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to help people with disabilities access their state and local digital services. The rule provides technical standards for websites and mobile apps, helping state and local governments meet their existing ADA obligation to provide accessible services. In the 34-year history of the ADA, this is the very first regulation describing the specific requirements that public entities must meet to ensure that their web content and mobile apps are accessible to people with disabilities.
“The aim is to ensure that state and local governments are truly accessible to all Americans. If you cannot access the right to vote online your government is not really accessible to you. These are fundamental opportunities for people and so we wanted to make sure that civic participation, access to education, transportation, job training, and social services are really accessible to all Americans and that’s what this rule is about.”
-- Arati Prabhakar, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology