Legislative Update January 2026: News from Trenton & Washington, DC – Changes in the FCC

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

Revisiting ADA Title II Web and Mobility Access Compliance to the WCAG 2.1 Level AA Rules

To prepare us for the important ADA Compliance Rules that are quickly approaching (by which many of us will have to abide), we want to once again review some information offered during JAG’s October General Meetings:

• Any video that is on government websites (or anywhere on the web) has to have closed captioning, whether it’s VOD or live streaming.
• Videos (except for live streamed) are going to also need audio descriptions.
• This must be accomplished on April 26th, 2026, for communities with more than 50,000 residents and by April 26, 2027, for communities with less than 50,000 residents.

From Mike Wassenaar, President-Alliance for Community Media (ACM)

Certain rules about communication for state and local governments were a part of the DOJ order that came forward, but even with the rulemaking that occurred in 2024, the ADA still didn’t change in and of itself. But, the responsibilities that nonprofits and local governments have to the public are still maintained. This is really more about a quality issue as opposed to a yes or no question.

You must provide effective communication for the community based upon what people who need accommodations need. Captioning doesn’t work with someone who’s illiterate. What about people who are American Sign Language speakers? Would captioning wouldn’t meet their needs? This ruling came up with captioning as sort of a uniform quality standard for video, particularly to be able to meet as many needs as possible in a community. Below are some other key points:

• Beware that there’s a private right of action by individuals under ADA. A state or local unit of government can be sued for not actually complying with ADA and not trying to examine the standards and trying to make a best effort to meet the standards for compliance. You have to make the best effort with your workflow to figure out how you could be providing these services in the community.
• Get accurate competitive quotes to provide those services and then you will need to make some budget decisions about how you can meet those standards or not. If it’s an undue burden under ADA, the local unit of government has to make a determination. Regardless of whether or not you’re a nonprofit contractor.
• We want to be able to provide services for the entire community, make the best accommodation possible, and where things are uneconomical, you state it responsibly. A local government can’t shed their responsibility by subcontracting out services. It’s their communication regardless of what site it’s on and that could be anything from Facebook and YouTube to their own sort of streaming services that they may be operating directly on their website.
• There’s no requirement for backwards compatibility prior to the deadline. You don’t have to go through 50 years of programming that you’ve got online, there’s not a legal requirement to caption everything. It’s just moving forward past the deadline; you have to have a plan in place. If it presents an undue burden, there’s a responsibility of local government to articulate that to the people under ADA.
• If your community has a disability rights commission, start thinking about them as a partner to be able to provide these types of services. Also, look at State Human Rights and Disability Rights Commission specifically, because they will often either have access programming grants or awards, or alternatively, they could be your partner in advocating for money from the state specifically for these types of projects.
• Reach out to other colleagues here in New Jersey and across the country, because there are solutions that you can provide for your community as we’re moving forward. And you’ve got a lot of folks who are really interested in your success.

Mike Wassenaar and the ACM have also shared with us a slideshow ACCESSIBILITY RULES EVERY PEG CHANNEL SHOULD UNDERSTAND, that highlights everything you need to know about these rules, as well as the following list of key takeaways to remember about disability access with your channels and services:

• You are probably exempt from FCC rules regarding captioning. ACM is recommending starting next July 1, you should list a point of contact for consumer questions to the FCC.
• If you provide captions, but they are not transmitted by a cable operator on your channels, tell the FCC as this is against the law. Email dro@fcc.org or use the link https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/closed-captioning-television

You are *not* exempt from ADA requirements. They require all non-profits and local governments to assess the costs of providing effective communication for residents. Solutions must be based on what residents need. You may not be required to provide that service if it fundamentally changes what you do, or it presents an undue economic burden. Guidelines are at https://www.ada.gov/resources/effective-communication/

Starting April 24, 2026, local governments serving more than 50K people must provide online communications that meet a minimum WCAG standard. This rule applies to all governments starting April 24, 2027. This includes captioning for live video online, and descriptive audio for pre-recorded video online. You should determine the costs for compliance with the new rule and plan either to meet the standards for your online presence or to make the case that compliance with one or more elements presents an undue burden. In either case, decision makers with local government need to be involved.

Regardless of the Federal Government’s enforcement of the ADA, these rules can be enforced through private legal action, so local governments and non-profits would be subject to legal liability if they fail to act appropriately.

Technology and pricing change, so you should be prepared to assess costs for compliance regularly.

Please contact us if you are in need of any further information.