HB21-1110 compliance is mandatory for Colorado state and local platform providers and content owners. HB21-1110 is mostly known as a website accessibility law but it will affect other digital assets because the new Colorado law applies to all technology – both internal and external.
The accessibility standards for HB21-1110 will come from the Colorado State Govenor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT). An interesting note is that Colorado makes note that previously, there was no formal process and little enforcement, but all indications are this new Colorado accessibility law will be strictly enforced.
If you need help with accessibility and compliance services, feel free to contact us and we’ll be right back with you.
All state agencies and local governments must be compliant with state standards by July 1, 2024. Of note is the OIT will provide resources, training on the state standards, and tools to assist with accessibility, but agencies and local government will need to make the changes and improvements to their online content.
Update: The HB21-1110 compliance deadline has been extended, provided you meet the provisions set out in HB24-1454.
Requirements
There are basically two categories for compliance. There is compliance for platform providers: Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT), SIPA (Colorado.gov websites), or other in-house development teams or vendors that are contracted to provide a platform.
Platforms are the underling technology that a website or application is built on.
And there is compliance for content owners: State agencies and county governments.
Content involves individuals and teams that create, publish and maintain content like text, links, images, forms, PDFs, documents and embedded third-party applications.
Platform Providers
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).
WCAG 2.1 AA is listed in the official Colorado state documentation but technically, the latest version is WCAG 2.2 AA. As 2.2 adds just 6 additional success criteria, we recommend continuing to WCAG 2.2 AA conformance.
Content Providers
Compliance in the creation and publishing of any online content and materials.
- Including but not limited to text, links, images, forms, PDFs, documents and embedded third-party applications.
Content providers also must establish a written plan with OIT, as part of your annual IT Roadmap, for implementing the accessibility standards. This first plan was originally due on July 1, 2022.
The most important compliance deadline for 2024 is July 1, 2024.
Colorado State Agencies
Unless your agency is exempt from compliance (there doesn’t appear to be any exceptions), here are the Colorado state agencies that must comply:
C
- Colorado Council on the Arts
- Colorado Department of Agriculture
- Colorado Department of Education
- Colorado Department of Higher Education
- Colorado Department of Human Services
- Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
- Colorado Department of Natural Resources
- Colorado Department of Revenue
- Colorado Department of Transportation
- Colorado Division of Aeronautics
- Colorado Division of Forestry
- Colorado Division of Insurance
- Colorado Division of Water Resources
- Colorado Lottery
- Colorado National Guard
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- Colorado River Water Conservation District
- Colorado State Board of Education
- Colorado State Library
- Colorado State Public Defender
- Colorado Water Conservation Board
- Colorado Water Quality Control Division
D
- Colorado Division of Youth Services
E
- Colorado Department of Early Childhood
H
- Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
L
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
- Colorado Department of Local Affairs
N
- Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
P
- Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Colorado Department of Public Safety
- Colorado Public Utilities Commission
R
- Regents of the University of Colorado
- Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies
S
- Scientific and Cultural Facilities District
T
- Task Force on the Implementation of Amendment 64
U
- UCHealth
Also note that other public entities including local governments in Colorado must comply with HB21-1110.
Services
Accessible.org can help you with:
- manual WCAG audits
- code and content remediation
- accessibility plan
- accessibility policy
- VPAT / ACR documentation
Our rates may be lower than the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology.
If you need help with accessibility and compliance before this deadline, feel free to contact us. We can help with training, content remediation, and writing your accessibility plan and other documentation.
Accessible.org resources include ADA Title II information which can be highly relevant to Colorado public entities. Also, visit our digital accessibility laws page to learn about compliance for different laws in the United States and around the globe.