“We're talking about basic access, not convenience. Access that everybody else that's able-bodied takes for granted. This should be a priority.” – Rep. David Ortiz
At the State of Colorado, we are dedicated to making state government products and services accessible, inclusive, equitable and available to all.
Inaccessible technology can interfere with an individual's ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily. When our digital services are inaccessible, we unfairly exclude people who need to access our information or services.
Accessibility is a commitment to providing equitable access to your services; not an item on a project checklist. It is the responsibility of each state employee and not a single person, team, or agency. This site is your entry to do your part!
Colorado Accessibility Law and the Adopted Rules
In February 2024, OIT adopted the final Rules Establishing Technology Accessibility Standards to help clarify and define the standards and compliance parameters of Colorado’s accessibility law. The rules are intended to provide a reasonable path to compliance while also providing equitable levels of service to people with disabilities. They are not intended to hamper the availability of government services and information in any way.
Read the Plain Language Guide to the State Technology Accessibility Rules.
How to Comply with Colorado Accessibility Laws
Public entities can be in compliance with the rules and accessibility law even if they have technology that is not perfectly accessible.
Your organization can be considered in compliance with the Colorado accessibility rules and law if you:
- Provide reasonable accommodations or modifications,
- Have a published accessibility statement, and
- Can provide evidence of making good faith progress on your plan to remove accessibility barriers.
Things to remember
- Progress, not perfection: Public entities don't have to make all their digital content accessible overnight. However, they must show they are making progress toward accessibility.
- Don't remove inaccessible content: Public entities should not remove inaccessible documents and resources from their websites. Instead, they should ensure that it’s easy for people to find a point of contact if they need to request a reasonable accommodation while working towards making those online resources accessible.
- Compliance with the rules = compliance with the law.
- House Bill 24-1454, also known as the Grace Period Bill, is not an automatic extension of the July 1, 2024 deadline for compliance: Rather, it may provide public entities agencies a one-year grace period to July 1, 2025 of immunity from liability for failure to comply with the digital accessibility standards established in the rules if that agency demonstrates good faith efforts toward compliance or toward resolution of any complaint of noncompliance.
Local Governments
Responsibilities for Local Governments
- Compliance in the creation and publishing of any technology. Including but not limited to text, links, images, forms, PDFs, documents, video, audio, maps and embedded third-party applications.
- Document your planning and progress to make digital products accessible. Two customizable documentation options that are available include the Example Evidence of an Accessibility Plan (Google Doc) or the Accessibility Adoption Planning Template (Google Sheets).
- Provide reasonable accommodations or modifications.
- Have a published accessibility statement.
What You Can Do
- Become familiar with accessibility fundamentals and the current WCAG standards, W3C (currently WCAG 2.1).
- Reference OIT’s Accessibility Guide for help in managing and creating accessible site content.
- Sign up for OIT's Accessibility Newsletter.
Where to Start
- Contact your platform provider to make sure they are aware of the law.
- Contact your Colorado Counties Inc (CCI) or Colorado Municipal League (CML) representatives with questions.
- Accessibility Planning for Government Organizations, 2024 (Google Slides) is designed to help local government teams understand their responsibilities and provide basic guidance for planning and operationalizing accessibility. Similar guidance can be found on the Accessibility Planning Core Criteria webpage.
- Free accessibility evaluation tools:
State Agencies
Responsibilities for State Agencies
- Compliance in the creation and publishing of any technology or digital content that is acquired, used or developed by the agency. Including but not limited to text, links, images, forms, PDFs, documents, video, audio, maps and embedded third-party applications.
- Update and maintain a written plan with OIT, as part of your annual IT Roadmap, for implementing the accessibility standards.
- Provide reasonable accommodations or modifications.
- Have a published accessibility statement.
What You Can Do
- Become familiar with accessibility fundamentals and the current WCAG standards, W3C (currently WCAG 2.1).
- Reference OIT’s Accessibility Guide for help in managing and creating accessible site content.
- Work with your IT Director the technical aspects of the agency's Accessibility Plan.
- Contact the OIT Accessibility Team for assistance with using the Siteimprove accessibility assessment tool.
- Sign up for OIT's Accessibility Newsletter and sign up for The A11y monthly update for state employees.
- Complete assigned accessibility training.
Reach out to your IT Director for guidance on engaging OIT’s testing team or our Enterprise Agreement vendors for testing of your owned and managed websites and applications.
Where to Start
- Contact your IT Director to get connected to the OIT Accessibility Team.
Platform Providers: OIT, SIPA & Vendors
- Platform providers, including OIT, SIPA and vendor partners, are required to provide a platform that is compliant with the most recently published W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
- OIT responsibilities:
- Promote and monitor the access standards for individuals with a disability in the state's information technology infrastructure, including but not limited to architecture.
- The OIT web content accessibility guidelines must conform with the most recent WCAG.
- Approve or reject procurements by state agencies for adaptive technologies for nonvisual or other disability access uses.
- Comply with accessibility standards when procuring products and services.