For Virginia towns, counties, school divisions, and special districts
ADA Title II readiness for Virginia public websites.
The Department of Justice now requires state and local government websites, documents, and apps to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. We inventory everything you publish, audit it by hand, and give you a dated, documented plan your board and your vendors can act on.
The dates that matter
The federal rule adopts WCAG 2.1 Level AA for state and local government web content and mobile apps (28 CFR 35.200). Virginia's own duties already apply.
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In force now
Virginia IT Access Act duties for school divisions and political subdivisions: a published accessibility contact, and accessibility terms in IT contracts.
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April 26, 2027
ADA Title II web rule applies to public entities serving 50,000 people or more.
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April 26, 2028
The rule applies to entities under 50,000 and to special districts.
A federal lawsuit filed in May 2026 asks the court to restore the original, earlier federal dates. Plan as if the dates could move up.
Your website vendor covers part of it
Most website plans scan the pages inside your content management system. The rule covers everything you publish, including the systems around it.
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PDFs
Agendas, minutes, budgets, forms, and notices, often thousands of files.
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Payment portals
Tax, utility, permit, and court payments run by third parties.
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GIS and maps
Parcel viewers, zoning maps, and service-area lookups.
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Agenda and meeting systems
Board packets, video archives, and public-comment tools.
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Utility billing and permits
Customer portals and online applications.
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Mobile apps
Apps you offer to residents, families, or students.
What you get
Start with the packet. Keep the evidence file running until your deadline and after it.
Readiness packet
$2,500 to $4,500
One time, scoped by the number of sites and systems you run.
- Inventory of every web property and third-party app
- Accessibility statement and coordinator posting
- Review of vendor conformance reports (ACRs and VPATs)
- PDF triage against the archived-content exception
- Manual audit of 15 to 25 page templates
- Remediation plan with specific asks for each vendor
- A memo ready for your board or council
Evidence file
$99 to $149/month
Monthly, after the packet.
- Monthly scans of every web property
- Running log of PDFs and what was fixed
- A dated progress record you can point to if your accessibility work is ever questioned
Priced to fall under the single-quote or two-quote thresholds most Virginia localities and school divisions use for small purchases. Fixes can be quoted separately if you want us to make them.
Start with a free 10-page sample audit.
We'll audit 10 pages of your site and send a scorecard: who runs your website, whether your accessibility statement and IT Access Act contact are posted, how many PDFs you publish, and how many issues an automated scan finds.
Common questions
Our website vendor says we are covered. Are we?
Probably not completely. Most vendor plans scan the pages inside their content management system. The rule also covers PDFs, third-party portals for payments, GIS, agendas, and billing, and any apps you offer. We inventory all of it and tell you exactly what to ask each vendor for.
Our deadline is April 2028. Why start now?
Virginia's IT Access Act duties already apply to school divisions and political subdivisions: a published accessibility contact and accessibility terms in IT contracts. A federal lawsuit filed in May 2026 also asks the court to restore the original, earlier federal dates. A dated plan you started early is also the record you'll want if your progress is ever questioned.
Can automated scanning do this for us?
Scanners are useful, and the evidence file includes them, but they catch only part of the problems. Keyboard traps, confusing form labels, unreadable PDFs, and broken screen reader flows need a person to test them. That is why the packet includes a manual audit of your page templates.
Do you fix the problems too?
Yes, if you want us to. The packet gives you a remediation plan you can hand to your vendors or staff. If you would rather we do the work, we will quote the fixes separately.
How do we buy this?
The readiness packet is priced to fall under the single-quote or two-quote thresholds most Virginia localities and school divisions use for small purchases. We can send a written quote for your procurement file.
Is this legal advice?
No. We are technologists, not attorneys. We give you an inventory, an audit against WCAG 2.1 AA, and a documented plan. Talk to your county or town attorney about legal questions.
Shipwright Labs provides technical accessibility audits and documentation, not legal advice. References: DOJ ADA Title II web and mobile rule, 28 CFR 35.200, as amended by the interim final rule of April 20, 2026; Virginia Information Technology Access Act, Va. Code 2.2-3500 through 2.2-3505.