How states can make IT procurements accessibility-friendly

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers on Wednesday published a guide designed to help states ensure that “accessibility is covered in all stages of the procurement life cycle.”

The five-page guide contains 10 steps designed to further a priority that has grown in importance in recent months among states’ top technology leaders. Accessibility last year entered the association’s annual list of technology priorities, which is based on a survey of its membership. The growing emphasis on accessibility in states could be a result of next April’s Department of Justice deadline, which requires state and local governments to make their websites and other digital properties adhere to accessibility standards.

The guide, which was authored by Kalea Young-Gibson, NASCIO’s policy analyst, advises technology leaders first to “build the case for accessibility,” perform market research and validate product accessibility, along with seven other steps. In a recent interview, Young-Gibson said that procurement is an important aspect of states’ accessibility pursuits, noting that the DOJ guidance will also penalize vendors for compliance failures.

“DOJ has broad authority to investigate complaints,” she said. “They can mandate remediations, issue legal findings and also file lawsuits against noncompliant entities.”

NASCIO issued a similar, two-part guide a decade ago, when adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act was far more scarce online. NASCIO’s 2015 guide shows that while most states at the time were mentioning to vendors the need to meet accessibility standards, the approach was only “marginally successful.” Government has long been asking for accessibility, but technology firms hadn’t yet developed products to meet that demand.

“It’s not something that anyone can really ignore anymore,” Young-Gibson said. “The general consensus is yes, this is good, we need it, we understand why. But states are still in very different places when it comes to the how and the what.”

Young-Gibson acknowledged that funding is a perennial challenge for states hoping to instate accessibility changes to their vast IT enterprises. NASCIO’s most recent annual report, published last month, noted that many states are expected to miss full compliance by next April. But she said the advice in the 2025 version of the guide can be followed “without doing too many drastic changes.”