Kentucky: accessible IT for the state and anyone it funds

The law binds covered entities, defined as the state or any state-assisted organization. A state-assisted organization is a college, university, nonprofit organization, person, political subdivision, school system or other entity supported in whole or in part by state funds. That pulls in counties, cities, school districts and nonprofits that receive state money, not just state agencies.

The head of each covered entity must make sure the IT used by employees, program participants and the public gives people with disabilities access equivalent to others, presents information in formats meant for both visual and nonvisual use, and was purchased under a contract with the technology access clause. The statute defines access by reference to nationally accepted standards such as Section 255 and Section 508.

The access standards must make interactive control readily achievable by nonvisual means, be compatible with the technology other people use, integrate into shared networks, and give equivalent access to telecommunications services.

The technology access clause, developed by the Finance and Administration Cabinet in line with Section 255 and Section 508, goes into every contract for IT procured by or for a covered entity since 14 July 2000, subject to the exclusions in KRS 61.986. A vendor selling software or web services to a Kentucky school district or city funded by the state is signing that clause, not only a vendor selling to a state agency.

State law here adds to federal law; it does not replace it. Every city, county, school district and special district in Kentucky is bound by the federal Title II web rule, 28 CFR 35.200, which requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA on web content and mobile apps: from April 26, 2027 for public entities of 50,000 people or more, and from April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special districts. State agencies are bound by the same rule at the earlier date.

Private businesses open to the public answer to ADA Title III. A private plaintiff can sue for an injunction and ask for attorney's fees; the Department of Justice can sue for damages and civil penalties. No federal regulation names a web standard for businesses, so audits use WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA as the working benchmark.

Read every Kentucky public sector contract for the access clause and keep a Section 508 or WCAG conformance report ready. Public bodies also carry the federal Title II duty, which sets WCAG 2.1 AA.