Is Vernal's Website Ready for the ADA Title II Deadline?
Did you know the deadline already changed?
Here's something many local officials missed: the original compliance deadline has already moved once. On April 20, 2026, the Department of Justice issued an Interim Final Rule pushing each deadline back a full year — which means Vernal's date is now April 26, 2028. A one-time extension is a grace period, not a reprieve. There is no indication another one is coming.
Vernal's latest accessibility scan
Overall compliance risk: Moderate — content reads at grade 10.9, above the grade-8 plain-language target
Top issues, in plain English
- critical Composite controls are missing required child elements for assistive tech (WCAG 1.3.1 · 93 pages)
- critical Accessibility attributes point at elements that don't exist (WCAG 4.1.2 · 4 pages)
- critical Delayed refresh under 20 hours must not be used (WCAG 2.2.1 · 2 pages)
- critical ARIA attributes must conform to valid names (WCAG 4.1.2 · 1 page)
- critical Buttons have no accessible name — assistive tech users can't tell what they do (WCAG 4.1.2 · 1 page)
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What WCAG 2.1 Level AA means for city government websites
With 10,698 residents, Vernal 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.
Vernal is a mid-size 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 Vernal's website continuously and sends a plain-English weekly digest — no technical background needed.