If you run a Colorado government website (city, county, special district, or state agency), you're subject to HB21-1110, which requires all government technology to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA as of July 2024.
We've built accessible sites for City of Arvada, Adams County 911, and CASTA. Here's the practical reality of what compliance requires.
The core requirement
All government websites, web applications, and mobile apps must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. That means:
- Perceivable: Content must be available to all senses, with text alternatives for non-text content and captions for audio
- Operable: All functionality must work via keyboard, not just mouse
- Understandable: Content and interface must be predictable and have clear error messages
- Robust: Content must work with assistive technologies like screen readers
This isn't optional. Non-compliance exposes government entities to civil rights complaints and lawsuits.
What this means in practice
1. Color contrast
Every piece of text must have sufficient contrast against its background:
- 4.5:1 for normal text
- 3:1 for large text (18pt+ regular or 14pt+ bold)
The most common failures we see: light gray text on white, brand colors that look great but test at 3:1 or worse. Use WebAIM's contrast checker for every text color combination.
2. Keyboard navigation
Every interactive element (buttons, links, form controls, custom widgets) must be reachable and usable via keyboard alone. Tab order must be logical. Focus indicators must be visible.
We've seen beautiful custom dropdowns and carousels that are completely unusable without a mouse. They fail WCAG instantly.
3. Screen reader support
All images need meaningful alt text (or empty alt="" if decorative). All form fields need proper labels. All buttons need accessible names. All state changes (loading, errors, success) must be announced.
This is where ARIA comes in, but be careful: bad ARIA is worse than no ARIA. The first rule of ARIA is "don't use ARIA." Use semantic HTML first.
4. Captions and transcripts
Any video with audio content needs captions. Audio-only content needs a transcript. This applies to embedded YouTube videos, training materials, and public meeting recordings. Government sites commonly host all of the above.
5. Accessible documents
PDFs are a major gotcha. Most government sites host hundreds of PDFs: meeting minutes, budgets, forms, reports. An inaccessible PDF is a compliance failure. Either:
- Generate them from accessible source documents
- Remediate existing PDFs (time-consuming but required)
- Replace them with HTML pages where possible (best option)
6. Forms
Contact forms, application forms, registration forms: every field must be labeled, errors must be clearly announced, and required fields must be marked in a way that doesn't rely solely on color or asterisks.
How we verify compliance
No automated tool catches everything. We use a three-layer approach:
Layer 1: Automated testing
- axe DevTools browser extension runs on every page during development
- Lighthouse accessibility audit in CI pipelines
- Catches about 30-40% of issues
Layer 2: Manual testing
- Keyboard-only navigation through every user flow
- Screen reader testing with NVDA (Windows) and VoiceOver (macOS)
- Testing at 200% browser zoom
- Catches another 40-50% of issues
Layer 3: User testing
- Sessions with actual users who rely on assistive technology
- Often reveals issues the first two layers miss
- Critical for complex interactive features
The ongoing commitment
Compliance isn't a one-time achievement. Every content update, every new page, every plugin update can introduce new issues. We recommend:
- Monthly automated scans of key pages
- Quarterly manual audits of high-traffic sections
- Annual comprehensive audits by accessibility specialists
- Training for content editors on accessible content creation
Common Colorado-specific issues
From auditing dozens of Colorado government sites, the most common compliance gaps we find:
- Meeting minute PDFs often scanned from paper, zero accessibility
- Emergency alerts that flash red banners and rely on color alone
- Service directories built as data tables without proper headers
- Maps and GIS tools where interactive maps rarely work with screen readers
- Form error messages with color-only error indication and generic "error" messages
Getting started
If you're not sure where your site stands:
- Run WAVE on your homepage for an instant snapshot of major issues
- Try to navigate your site using only the Tab key. Can you reach everything?
- Turn on your computer's screen reader and try to complete a common task
If any of that is revealing, you're probably not compliant. That's okay. Most sites aren't. The important thing is to have a remediation plan.
We help Colorado government entities reach and maintain WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. If you need an audit or ongoing accessibility support, get in touch.