State and local governments have spent years making their websites accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Now, accessibility must move beyond websites and become a core function of public records management, requiring agencies to ensure that the records they create and publish are accessible by design.
Meeting agendas, board packets, permits, utility bills, public notices, contracts and other government records have long been governed by transparency laws that require agencies to make them publicly available. Today, those same records need to be accessible to all residents, especially those with disabilities.
Many agencies have invested heavily in accessible websites while continuing to publish records as scanned PDFs or documents that may lack searchable text, document structure, sufficient color contrast or responsive design. As a result, the records themselves often represent one of the largest remaining accessibility gaps.
The Department of Justice’s 2024 ADA Title II ruling reinforces that accessibility obligations extend beyond webpages to digital documents, making document accessibility essential to delivering public services. But rather than viewing document accessibility as an entirely new compliance requirement, agencies should view it as the next stage in modern public records management.
Public Records: Where Transparency Meets Accessibility
For decades, state public records laws, sunshine laws and open meetings laws have required governments to make agendas, budgets, contracts, permits and other official records publicly available. Now, the DOJ Title II ruling has clarified that these same digital documents, not just websites that host them, must also be accessible to people with disabilities.
Historically, agencies treated those transparency obligations separately from ADA compliance. Today, these responsibilities are converging, creating one operational workflow for public records, transparency and ADA compliance requirements. Compliance means satisfying all requirements, but agencies don’t need separate workflows or compliance processes to do so. By building accessibility into the documents they already create and publish, they can meet both obligations through a single workflow.
Building Accessibility into Public Records Management
A strong public records management strategy treats accessibility as part of the document lifecycle, not as a remediation task after publication or after a resident requests an accommodation. By integrating accessibility into existing publishing workflows, agencies reduce remediation costs, improve transparency and satisfy both public records and ADA requirements at once.
This shift isn’t simply about producing accessible PDFs. Instead, it is about modernizing the entire records workflow, integrating ADA document accessibility as a quality-control checkpoint alongside compliance reviews, records retention and publication approval.
In practice, that means creating accessible documents from the beginning rather than remediating them after publication. This is easier said than done: Board secretaries and clerks are already stretched thin and asking them to complete manual accessibility checks before every publication can slow down timelines that are already tight. A more practical approach is to build accessibility directly into the publishing process, so documents are processed automatically, and staff can review the results asynchronously — without adding steps to their existing workflow. Part of that shift is also rethinking the formats agencies rely on to publish records in the first place.
Many agencies are also rethinking how public records are delivered. Rather than relying exclusively on static PDFs, they’re beginning to publish HTML versions that are easier to use on mobile devices, work better with translation and assistive technologies, and are easier for residents and search engines to navigate. This reduces staff time spent responding to accessibility requests while improving the experience for all residents. Many aren’t replacing PDFs entirely, though — they’re making HTML the primary experience while continuing to offer accessible PDFs where appropriate.
Residents expect their government to be transparent. True transparency means making public information available in a way every resident can independently find and use. When residents can reliably access the public information they need, research shows they’re more likely to view government as responsive and accountable, boosting trust and engagement.
Most importantly, with a modern public records management approach that integrates accessibility from day one, local governments will be well positioned to ensure that every resident, regardless of ability, can find and use the public information that shapes their lives and communities.
Mac Clemmens is the CivicPlus® Senior Vice President of Product Strategy and Innovation and the Co-Founder of DocAccess and Streamline. He is a proud advocate of website accessibility and local government, having presented on the subject at conferences nationwide. He received the prestigious “Vision Award” from Disability Rights California — the nation’s largest disability rights advocacy organization — in recognition of his commitment to creating accessible website experiences for all users. Mac is passionate about helping local governments tell their stories and engage with their communities, ensuring that the fear of ADA noncompliance doesn’t stand in the way.
Photo credit: Andrey Matveev, Pexels
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