The ADA and Internet compliance
Source: United States Department of Justice
Although courts are still in the process of determining if the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] applies to material posted on the Internet, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has made it clear that it interprets the ADA as applicable to websites.
Many municipalities and school districts have taken the initiative and are making its website “user friendly” for individuals with disabilities and the World Wide Web Consortium, an international developer for open standards for the Web, advocates making websites usable by the disabled even if regulations are still in the drafting stage.
Websites should be accessible to disabled users through features permitting easier navigation and that interface with available assistive technologies such as not limiting access time for activities, oral communication to trigger program functions and appropriate controls for all operations.
It is expected that public entities will soon be required to make certain that its electronic publications are ADA compliant. Advocates for the disable believe that the sooner municipality and school district websites are accessible to the disabled the better.
The Department of Justice has posted information addressing such compliance with the ADA on the Internet at https://www.ada.gov/