by Swatha Nandhakumar
July is Disability Pride Month, a month dedicated to commemorating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), celebrating our shared identity as disabled members of society, and planning our next moves in advocating for a more accessible and equitable world. It is also a time when we at ACB can celebrate the many wins from the previous year, which is what the inaugural Forum article from the ACB Advocacy team will be doing. So from Disability Pride Month 2023 to Disability Pride Month 2024, let’s highlight some of the advocacy wins and moves made to make our world, both physical and digital, more accessible and equitable for individuals who are blind or have low vision.
The most recent advocacy win for ACB is the passage and signing of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization package. The FAA was supposed to be reauthorized last September, but politics delayed it; it finally passed in mid-May. Included in this package are several accessibility provisions advocated for by the disability community, including accessibility improvements to airports, airline websites and apps, and in-flight entertainment, improved training standards for meet-and-assist personnel at airports, and a pilot program for guide dog users that would replace the attestation form requirements. The FAA will be reauthorized for the next five years.
Backtracking to earlier in 2024, and to late 2023, we have, arguably, two of the most significant administrative rule-makings in the 21st century. On the anniversary of the ADA, the White House announced that the long-awaited proposed rule on accessibility of websites and mobile apps for Title II entities would be published for comment by the Department of Justice. Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by state and local government programs and services. ACB submitted its own comment, and we joined 264 other disability advocacy organizations in a unified comment on the proposed rule. In April of this year, our efforts paid off — a final rule on accessibility of websites and mobile apps for Title II entities was published. This rule was 14 years in the making, and the Department of Justice has finally clarified that the ADA covers the digital environment, just like it covers the physical environment.
Following the publication of the Title II rule, the Department of Health and Human Services published its proposed rule to refresh its regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which covers non-discrimination in programs and services offered by the federal government. Section 504 regulations have not been updated in close to 40 years, so an update was long overdue. ACB once again submitted comments. In early May, HHS published its final rule. Most notable is the inclusion of the new Title II regulations from Justice in this rule from HHS. Health care, both virtual and in-person, will become much more accessible for individuals with disabilities, including blindness and low vision.
Another notable advocacy win, although still ongoing, is the publication of the final Public Rights of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) from the U.S. Access Board. PROWAG sets standards for accessibility of the built environment. It includes things like curb cuts and ramps, tactile warnings at the end of those curb ramps that lead to street crossings, and accessible pedestrian signals which indicate when a blind or low vision person can safely cross the street. PROWAG, much like the Title II web access and Section 504 rules, is long overdue, and still a work in progress. The Departments of Justice and Transportation still need to adopt the guidelines and turn them into enforceable regulations. When that happens, ACB will certainly be there.
Much like with PROWAG, there is still work to be done. We have a Title II rule for websites and apps of state and local governments, but we still need a Title III rule to cover websites and apps of places of public accommodation. We are also still waiting for Section 504 updates from other federal agencies like Department of Education and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Additionally, ACB eagerly anticipates passage of our legislative imperatives, including the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act and the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act. For now, though, let us celebrate the accomplishments and advocacy victories we have achieved thus far, and enjoy the continued job security for ACB’s Advocacy team. As we always say at the end of our podcasts, keep advocating!
Happy Disability Pride Month!