States that miss accessibility deadline risk reputational damage, lawsuits
As states look ahead to an April 2026 deadline to meet new accessibility requirements, an industry association warns that failing to update websites and other digital platforms in time could risk costly lawsuits and reputational damage.
A report published Thursday by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers cautions that accessibility lawsuits filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act are already on the rise, jumping from 2,250 lawsuits in 2019 to 4,000 last year, with costs to offenders as high as $350,000, not counting remediation costs.
The NASCIO report cites examples of costly digital ADA lawsuits, like a 2023 case in which a jury sided with two blind students from the Los Angeles Community College District who were awarded $240,000 in damages.
The Department of Justice ruled last year that state and local governments overseeing populations of at least 50,000 people will have until next April 24 to ensure their websites, apps and other digital platforms meet current web accessibility guidelines set by the World Wide Web Consortium, a standards body founded by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee. Smaller state and local governments have an additional year.
NASCIO cites cost as a key obstacle to states updating their web presences, particularly in light of federal cuts to accessibility work, such as the Trump administration’s recent elimination of the Digital Equity Act, a $2.75 billion program that the president last May deemed on his Truth social platform to be “totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL.”
According to the report, one in five people globally have at least one disability. In the United States, NASCIO claims, those people control at least $1.3 billion in spending power.
“Agencies that treat accessibility regulation, like the DOJ final rule, as a compliance-only task miss the opportunity to invest in broader usability improvements to remedy current inadequacies,” the report reads. “The socioeconomic benefits of digital accessibility (increased participation, decreased digital exclusion and litigation prevention) outweigh the initial investment into accessible digital platforms.”
The report cites several cases in which accessibility work has yielded positive outcomes for government agencies, including a 2024 study in Seattle that showed digital inclusion programs led to rises in technology adoption and satisfaction in city services, along with a drop in digital access issues.
NASCIO concludes with several recommendations, including integrating accessibility into procurement, to ensure that vendors understand the upcoming accessibility requirements are mandatory, and prioritizing accessibility in organizations’ digital roadmaps.
