Texas: accessible technology for state agencies, and documentation from vendors

Subchapter M of Government Code chapter 2054 applies to state agencies in all three branches, and the definition expressly includes university systems and institutions of higher education. Electronic and information resources are defined to include websites, kiosks, multimedia, telephones and office equipment. Cities, counties and private businesses are outside it; for them the federal ADA governs.

Agencies must give members of the public with disabilities access to and use of electronic and information resources comparable to what others get, and the same for state employees, unless that imposes a significant difficulty or expense. In that case the agency may provide an alternate method of access. DIR adopts the detailed rules, considering the federal Section 508 standards, and has done so in 1 TAC chapters 206 and 213.

Each agency designates a digital accessibility officer or coordinator, documents any exception through the head of the agency, and reports compliance in the biennial Information Resources Deployment Review.

DIR's procurement page states that DIR contracts require compliance with Government Code 2054, 1 TAC 206, 1 TAC 213 and WCAG 2.1 AA. Vendors must submit accessibility documentation with solicitation responses and again when agencies or universities ask for updated documentation, and buyers may use it in their evaluation. DIR lists WCAG and Section 508 VPAT templates as resources.

In practice that means a VPAT or Accessibility Conformance Report filled in from an actual test, kept current with each release.

State law here adds to federal law; it does not replace it. Every city, county, school district and special district in Texas 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.

There is no state law claim for the public under this subchapter, so the pressure on agencies comes from audits, procurement and the federal Title II rule. For a vendor the practical cost of a weak or stale conformance report is losing the bid, not a lawsuit under state law.