Is Independence's Website Ready for the ADA Title II Deadline?
Did you know the deadline already changed?
The deadline you may have written down last year is no longer the right one. A DOJ Interim Final Rule issued April 20, 2026 extended the original ADA Title II dates by one year, so Independence now has until April 26, 2028. That extra year is exactly the window to find and fix problems before enforcement begins — the DOJ has given no signal that the date will move again.
Independence's latest accessibility scan
Overall compliance risk: Moderate — 8 PDFs fail basic accessibility checks
Top issues, in plain English
- serious Text is too low-contrast against its background to read comfortably (WCAG 1.4.3 · 13 pages)
- serious Links have no readable text — screen reader users can't tell where they lead (WCAG 2.4.4 · 3 pages)
- serious Links are distinguishable only by color, invisible to color-blind users (WCAG 1.4.1 · 2 pages)
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What WCAG 2.1 Level AA means for town government websites
With 108 residents, Independence falls under the DOJ's small-entity tier (under 50,000 population), which comes with the later of the two federal deadlines — but the same technical standard.
The rule points to WCAG 2.1 Level AA — a widely used technical checklist. Stripped of jargon, it asks simple questions: can a blind resident using a screen reader pay a bill on your site? Can someone who can't use a mouse complete a form with just a keyboard? Is the text readable against its background?
Smaller entities sometimes assume they're exempt. They aren't — the later deadline is the only accommodation the rule makes for size. Services like business licensing, utility sign-up, and code enforcement requests all need to work for residents with disabilities.
Independence is a small community, and its website is the front door for business licensing, utility sign-up, and code enforcement requests. Under ADA Title II, that front door has to work for every resident.
Don't find out about problems from a demand letter
A11yCheck monitors Independence's website continuously and sends a plain-English weekly digest — no technical background needed.