Take Aways from the Department of Justice Accessibility Report

If it seemed like accessibility was a prominent topic in federal agencies from 2022-2024, that’s because it was. Take the following timeline as an example:

• March 2022: DOJ publishes web accessibility guidance under the ADA.
• July 2022: DOJ announces movement on amending Title II of the ADA (the section dedicated to state and local governments) to include website accessibility standards.
• December 2022: President Biden signs the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes strengthening accessibility expectations for federal agencies.
• January 2023: The DOJ, along with the GSA, publishes the first report in 10 years on federal agencies’ digital accessibility efforts.
• March 2023: The Association for Children and Families (ACF) hosts the first federally sponsored National Convening on Building an Inclusive Human Services System at which accessibility was a primary focus.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) report on federal accessibility, which is supposed to be biennial, was long anticipated and overdue. It confirmed that many federal agencies are unable to reach the accessibility expectations outlined in Section 508. And it’s not just federal agencies, private organizations are struggling with accessibility too. According to UsableNet, litigation related to ADA-based cases soared to over 4,000 cases per year in 2021 and 2022.

So, if you’re a government agency (local, state, or federal) that is struggling to meet accessibility requirements, what are you to do? Where do you start?

Successes and Struggles Highlighted in Department of Justice Report

The best starting point is to get a general understanding of accessibility. To do that, let’s look at the DOJ’s 508 report and see where federal agencies have been successful with accessibility and where they struggle.

The DOJ’s 508 report can be viewed from two primary buckets: Digital documents and internet/intranet accessibility. Here are some highlights about these two areas from the report:

Digital document accessibility

The most accessible type of document you can provide your audience with is a PDF. You can, of course, provide Word or PowerPoint documents, but the accessibility features in those file types are not nearly as robust as PDFs. (Plus, you risk accidental edits from anyone viewing your document.)

So how do federal agencies stack up in respect to PDF accessibility, according to the DOJ’s 508 report?

Successes

• Conformance is possible: Unfortunately, we had to grasp at straws for this one. The main success we identified in the report is that 23% of agencies’ top 10 downloads were conformant from February 2017 to August 2022. That demonstrates that with some intentionality, accessible PDFs are well within reach for government agencies.

Struggles

• Standard conformance: To be 508-compliant, PDFs need to achieve a PDF/UA standard, as guided by the U.S. Access Board. There are many layers to the standard, such as properly including tags and alt text, identifying links, structuring tables, and using strong enough color contrast. The DOJ report indicates that 68% of agencies’ top 10 downloads are nonconformant.
• Tags: Tags are what give the document structure, including heading levels, so users can easily navigate the document. Many agencies struggle with this foundational element of PDF accessibility. The report found that between February 2021 and August 2022, 57% of PDFs tested were not conformant. Of those nonconformant PDFs, 73% were untagged. This data point is especially shocking due to the ease with which tags can be built into PDFs. Without tags, those using assistive technology such as screen readers are in essence opening a document with blank pages.

Internet and intranet accessibility

Based on guidance from the U.S. Access Board, website, mobile, and video accessibility is measured by a different set of standards, called WCAG, or Website Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Successes

• Internet conformance: Federal agencies self-reported that 90% of their internet pages are accessible. However, the report notes, “While not verified, anecdotal information indicates that the majority of reported test results come from automated testing, which only reflects a small portion (25-30%) of the standards.” Automation in accessibility is a tool — not the full solution.
• Accessibility statements: Most federal agencies (90%) have an accessibility statement on their government website. Additionally, most agencies (83%) list a contact person for accessibility inquiries.

Struggles

• Intranet conformance: Only 41% of agencies self-reported that their intranet pages (or internal agency webpages) are accessible. The report also highlights that several agencies are not testing their intranet pages.

Next steps you can take

The DOJ report provides a list of recommendations that federal agencies can take for next steps following an “assess, educate, implement, and measure” approach. The recommendations include putting together plans for your agency to address accessibility, such as establishing processes for measuring your efforts and educating staff annually on accessibility standards and practices.

If all of this sounds overwhelming to you, we’re here to help. Our team includes accessibility experts, designers, and developers. We assist government agencies (and private organizations) with building accessibility into digital communications to avoid costly fixes at the end of the project. While tempting, putting off accessibility until the end of your project, it will end up taking longer, costing more money, and creating unnecessary headaches.