Here is today's Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information Network message.? Please feel free to share with others.? Martha Martha K. Gabehart | Executive Director [email protected] | www.kcdcinfo.ks.gov ***** This information is from the U.S. Access Board. April 12, 2024 U.S. Access Board Webinar: Doors and Gates Doors and gates are a significant aspect of almost all accessible routes within a site connecting buildings, rooms, and spaces. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Standards address the many components to make a door accessible, including opening force, hardware, and maneuvering clearances. During this webinar on Thursday, May 2 from 2:30 ? 4:00 p.m. (ET), Access Board Accessibility Specialists will review the requirements for manual, automatic, and power-assisted doors, doorways, and gates as part of an accessible route. For more information or to register, visit Great Lakes ADA Center?s Doors and Gates webinar webpage. All webinars include video remote interpreting (VRI) and real-time captioning. Questions can be submitted in advance of the session or can be posed during the live webinar. Webinar attendees can earn continuing education credits. The webinar series is hosted by the ADA National Network in cooperation with the Board. Archived copies of previous Board webinars are available on the site. ***** I don't usually post blogs, but Seyfarth Shaw usually is on target with their information. This is about the recent US Department of Justice (DOJ) announcement about the final rule on website? and app accessibility requirements.? DOJ Issues Final Rule Under Title II of the ADA for State and Local Government Websites By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on April 9, 2024 POSTED IN ADA TITLE III, WEBSITE Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOJ issued final regulations under Title II of the ADA requiring state and local government websites and mobile apps to conform to WCAG 2.1 AA in two or three years, with few exceptions. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced yesterday the issuance of a Final Rule which requires the websites and mobile apps of state and local governments to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Levels A and AA (?WCAG 2.1 AA?) in two or three years, depending on the number of people within their jurisdictions. The Final Rule does contain some narrow exceptions to this requirement, but is overall quite stringent. Case in point: Even though the WCAG 2.1 AA allows for the use of a ?conforming alternate version? of a website to provide access, the Final Rule limits the use of such conforming alternative versions to where it is not possible to make web content directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations. In addition, the DOJ chose WCAG 2.1 AA even though the federal government only has to conform its websites, under Section 508 requirements, with the less demanding WCAG 2.0 AA. There is quite a bit to unpack in the 320-page Final Rule so we will back later with more analysis and takeaways. In the meantime, the DOJ did provide a helpful Fact Sheet which contains a summary of the major points. As we have mentioned previously, this Final Rule is important because it will likely provide the roadmap for future DOJ regulations for public accommodations websites and mobile apps under Title III of the ADA. If the Biden Administration gets a second term, we predict such a proposed rule will issue. Edited by Kristina Launey ?
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