Agencies still struggle with online accessibility, GSA says

The federal government is often failing to meet its own requirements for digital accessibility, according to a new, congressionally-mandated report released late last month.

The report notes that in the “26 years since the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended to include Section 508, governmentwide Section 508 conformance remains low.”

The law requires that federal technology like apps and websites be accessible to people with disabilities, which make up about 13% of Americans, according to the Census Bureau.

But only a third or less of federal agencies’ most viewed tech is fully in line with Section 508 standards meant to ensure accessibility, and governmentwide digital accessibility decreased in fiscal 2024. 

The report follows increased attention to the issue in recent years, although “digital accessibility remains largely deprioritized across government,” it notes.

The Office of Management and Budget updated guidance on Section 508 for the first time in a decade in 2023, and the Justice Department issued a final rule with standards and requirements for digital accessibility on the state and local level last spring.

Congress laid down requirements for this GSA report in 2022, following over a decade of the DOJ not issuing its own, congressionally-mandated report on Section 508 compliance in the federal government.

One bright spot in the report is that more agencies have full-time Section 508 program managers than last year. More agencies also reported high “maturity” ratings, meant to capture the development of a Section 508 program, following increased investment in digital accessibility.

“The federal IT accessibility journey has been a winding road,” said Dan Pomeroy, deputy associate administrator at the General Services Administration, at a recent digital accessibility event.

“There have been years where the Section 508 compliance and accessibility issues caught the attention of lawmakers and became a top priority,” he said, “and there have been other times where trying to find traction was much more difficult.”

The attention on the issue may again be in flux as the second Trump administration moves into the White House later this month. 

“It’s not clear that this is a priority of this next administration,” said Mike Gifford, open standards and practices lead at professional services firm Civic Actions and digital accessibility expert.

Accessibility mandates weren’t necessarily rolled back during Trump 1.0, but “there wasn’t a lot of progress” due to a lack of prioritization, he said.

Now, Trump has vowed to gut equity work across the federal government. What that means for accessibility isn’t clear. 

The Biden administration added accessibility to the diversity, equity and inclusion acronym as part of a 2021 DEIA executive order that included some accessibility-focused initiatives.

Incoming Vice President J.D. Vance previously called DEI — without the A — a “destructive ideology that breeds hatred and racial division” while he was still in the Senate, backing a bill to rescind several Biden executive orders and memoranda, including the DEIA one from 2021.

Also at play is the loss of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who failed to win reelection in the recent 2024 elections. He previously pushed the issue of accessibility from his perch as chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Still, GSA has a list of recommendations for Congress in its recent report. 

Lawmakers should update the law itself to clearly define who needs to follow Section 508, bring it up to date with the current technological landscape and strengthen enforcement.

The report also calls for increased funding, as resourcing and staffing remain challenges. About half of the agencies surveyed don’t have the resources to even test their most viewed content. 

The report also encourages agencies to ensure that they integrate digital accessibility into government acquisitions and throughout the tech lifecycle.

About half of agencies still take contract deliverables without confirming that they’re accessible, according to the report, and many agencies don’t consistently even include Section 508 requirements in contract solicitations.

Congress could also focus oversight efforts on major tech contractors for the federal government that provide things that all agencies use — like surveys or productivity applications — that still may not be accessible, the report states.

“Systemic challenges persist in staffing, testing, and procurement,” the report stated. “Training, leadership engagement and vendor accountability will be essential to achieving sustainable improvements in digital accessibility.”

For now, “digital accessibility remains largely deprioritized across government.”