Accessibility in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023

President Biden signed H.R. 2617 into law in December 2022. The bill builds on the landmark Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 508), which requires federal agencies to make electronic information accessible to people with disabilities to ensure everyone has equitable access to government information. However, a recent report by the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging reviewed the federal government’s commitment to accessibility and found gaps that stretch across agencies. Accountability measures from the 1990s have not been consistently implemented, providing taxpayers with little information about the government’s progress toward accessibility for all citizens.

In an effort to address these shortfalls, the spending bill H.R. 2617 included three major components.

Updated Criteria

First, it requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and coordinating stakeholders to provide “amended or updated criteria and instructions” to any federal department or agency that is required to adhere to Section 508 requirements within 100 days from when the law is enacted.

The criteria and instructions must:

• Include requirements that IT and digital services conform to technical standards referenced in Section 508.
• Consider accessibility and usability based on consultation from individuals with disabilities and their advocates.
• Provide guidance to agencies regarding acceptable data and information reporting requirements, including submission requirements, metrics for assessment, and any other directions necessary for agency compliance with Section 508.

Evaluation Report

Second, the new law requires agencies to evaluate and report on their compliance with 508 standards within 225 days of the law’s enactment. Federal agencies were expected to provide these reports by mid- to late July 2023.

Agencies must:

• Submit a report of their evaluations to OMB and the General Services Administration (GSA).
• Compare access between people with disabilities and those without disabilities.
• Evaluate their electronic and information technology in accordance with the criteria and instructions mentioned above.

Progress Updates

Finally, the bill requires OMB and GSA to provide:

• Annual reporting on agencies’ compliance with the aforementioned criteria and instructions.
• A detailed description of efforts made by GSA to support compliance and any planned efforts to improve compliance at agencies.
• A list of recommendations that agencies or Congress may take to help support that compliance.

These reports must be available on a public website and will be maintained for unencumbered and accessible public review.  

The first annual report must be provided no later than one year after the enactment of the bill.

While we don’t yet know the full impact of this bill, it’s clear the government is prioritizing accessibility for all users. Agencies need to be on alert and start training staff and developing their policies and systems to meet this bill’s requirements.