Accessibility Procurement Toolkit

The VPAT is available from the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) website at https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat. Vendors that are not familiar with the VPAT are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the currently available “VPAT 2.5 WCAG (November 2023)”, which can be used to measure conformance against the currently legally recommended WCAG Version 2.1, however, to be proactive the county recommends testing for WCAG 2.2.

The standards for hardware containing a user interface may be accessed from the United States Access Board’s website, at https://www.access-board.gov/ict/#chapter-4-hardware.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed and published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), a subgroup of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), 2.1 standards can be found at https://www.w3.org/TR/2023/REC-WCAG22-20231005/.

The technology accessibility rules are established by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT), and can be found at https://oit.colorado.gov/standards-policies-guides/guide-to-accessible-web-services/accessibility-law-for-colorado-state-0. The rules apply to both public external-facing and internal-facing information and communication technology (ICT) that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by state and local government entities.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) published the final rule in the Federal Register to which you can read at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/24/2024-07758/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-information-and-services-of-state. The Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Subpart H—Web and Mobile Accessibility can be found at https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/regulations/title-ii-2010-regulations/#-35200-requirements-for-web-and-mobile-accessibility.

Definitions To Know

  • WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) covers a wide range of recommendations for making web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities and address accessibility of web content, including websites, applications, documents, etc., on desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices. The State of Colorado is required to follow the current release version of the WCAG guidelines at both levels A and AA.
  • VPAT: A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is used to identify whether a product is WCAG compliant for every success criteria element of the guidelines. It uses a table structure that shows the linked success criteria, whether the product passes, partially passes, or fails each success criteria, and a notes column to incur details on what might be failing (or partially failing) and sometimes a timeline or details for when the issue will be fixed.
  • HB 21-1110: House Bill 21-1110 requires all Colorado government entities to be compliant with OIT’s accessibility standards by July 1, 2024. The bill also states that a statutory fine not to exceed three thousand five hundred dollars would be payable to each plaintiff for each violation.
  • SB 23-244: Senate Bill 23-244 allows OIT to promulgate, or create, rules around accessibility. These rules can include a number of things that help clarify the original HB21-1110 statute.
  • ADA: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It also applies to digital technology.
  • ICT: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is defined as information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content.

FAQs

What am I to fill out and who do I send it to?

If your service or product falls within the definition of ICT then you will need to fill out the VPAT 2.5 WCAG document or provide manual testing reports from a qualified testing company to Rob Skinner at RobSkinner@ElPasoCo.com or Sarah Robinson at SarahRobinson@ElPasoCo.com.

Does my service or product classify as ICT?

The term does not include any equipment that contains embedded information technology that is used as an integral part of the product, but the principal function of which is not the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information.

For example:

  • Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment such as thermostats or temperature control devices
  • Medical equipment where information technology is integral to its operation are not considered information technology

However, if the embedded information technology has an externally available web or computer interface, that interface is considered ICT.

For example:

  • The interface on a piece of medical equipment where a user acquires a report.

Examples of ICT include, but are not limited to:

  • Computers and peripheral equipment
  • Information kiosks and transaction machines
  • Telecommunications equipment
  • Customer premises equipment
  • Multifunction office machines
  • Software
  • Applications
  • Web sites
  • Videos
  • Electronic documents

Who do I contact if I have additional questions?

You will need to contact Rob Skinner at RobSkinner@ElPasoCo.com or Sarah Robinson at SarahRobinson@ElPasoCo.com.