Is Lakewood's Website Ready for the ADA Title II Deadline?
Did you know the deadline already changed?
The deadline you may have written down last year is no longer the right one. A DOJ Interim Final Rule issued April 20, 2026 extended the original ADA Title II dates by one year, so Lakewood now has until April 26, 2027. That extra year is exactly the window to find and fix problems before enforcement begins — the DOJ has given no signal that the date will move again.
Lakewood's latest accessibility scan
Overall compliance risk: High — 52 PDFs fail basic accessibility checks
Top issues, in plain English
- critical Accessibility attributes point at elements that don't exist (WCAG 4.1.2 · 6 pages)
- critical Buttons have no accessible name — assistive tech users can't tell what they do (WCAG 4.1.2 · 5 pages)
- critical Delayed refresh under 20 hours must not be used (WCAG 2.2.1 · 1 page)
- critical Elements use invalid accessibility roles (WCAG 4.1.2 · 1 page)
- critical ARIA accessibility attributes are used incorrectly and may mislead screen readers (WCAG 4.1.2 · 1 page)
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What WCAG 2.1 Level AA means for city government websites
Because Lakewood serves 156,868 residents — above the DOJ's 50,000-person threshold — it falls in the first enforcement wave, with the earlier of the two federal deadlines.
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the technical standard the DOJ adopted for ADA Title II. In plain terms, it's a checklist that makes sure residents who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, or captions can actually use your website: text on every image, labels on every form field, enough color contrast to read, and video captions.
For first-wave entities, the practical risk isn't only DOJ action — it's private lawsuits and demand letters that cite the federal standard the moment the deadline passes.
Lakewood is a major population center, and its website is the front door for recreation registration, utility billing, and building permits. Under ADA Title II, that front door has to work for every resident.
Don't find out about problems from a demand letter
A11yCheck monitors Lakewood's website continuously and sends a plain-English weekly digest — no technical background needed.