Special districts and the ADA Title II web rule

Does the web rule apply to special districts?

The web rule applies to special districts. Title II covers every state and local government entity, and the rule names special district governments directly when it sets dates. Every special district government has until April 26, 2028, the same date as towns and counties under 50,000, whatever its size.

Beginning April 26, 2028, a public entity with a total population of less than 50,000 or any public entity that is a special district government shall ensure that the web content and mobile apps that the public entity provides or makes available … comply with Level A and Level AA success criteria and conformance requirements specified in WCAG 2.1 …

28 CFR 35.200(b)(2)

That date was April 26, 2027 until an interim final rule of April 20, 2026 moved it (91 FR 20902). A lawsuit challenging that extension is pending; the pillar guide tracks where it stands.

What counts as a special district government

A special district government, under the rule, is a public entity that state law authorizes to provide one function or a few, with enough administrative and fiscal independence to be a separate government, and whose population the Census Bureau does not calculate. Counties, municipalities, townships and independent school districts are excluded by name.

Special district government means a public entity … authorized by State law to provide one function or a limited number of designated functions with sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as a separate government and whose population is not calculated by the United States Census Bureau in the most recent decennial Census or Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.

28 CFR 35.104, “Special district government”

The Justice Department’s small entity compliance guide gives examples: “a mosquito abatement district, utility district, transit authority, water and sewer board, zoning district, or other similar state or local government entity that has a specific function.”

One distinction matters. A water utility run as a department of a town is not a special district. It is part of the town and uses the town’s population, as the First Steps guide explains for parts of a larger government.

Why special districts share the later date

Special districts share the later date for two reasons the Justice Department gave in 2024. The Census Bureau does not publish their populations, so there is no neutral way to measure size. And a district with one function may have a narrower budget than a city serving the same number of people.

In the Department’s words, special districts “might find it difficult to obtain population estimates that are objective and reliable,” and because their functions are limited, they “may have more limited or specialized budgets” (89 FR 31356).

The later date is not a lighter standard. A district faces the same WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard, the same five exceptions and the same duty to answer requests as any town.

The number of special districts

The number of special district governments in the United States was 40,199 in 2025, out of 91,438 local governments, according to the Census Bureau. Its report, released in May 2026, says the growth since 2022 came from new districts in four states, Colorado among them.

The 2022 Census of Governments had counted 39,555. The Bureau names Colorado, Florida, Nebraska and Texas, and says the new districts generally provided two or more services, “such as community development, water conservation, and fire and emergency medical services” (Census Bureau).

What a district posts, and what must conform

What a district posts decides the work, more than what kind of district it is. Documents a district might post include board agendas and packets, minutes, budgets, audits, rate notices and election notices. As PDFs, these are conventional electronic documents under the rule, and new ones posted after April 26, 2028 generally must conform.

Older documents posted before that date usually fall under the preexisting documents exception in 28 CFR 35.201(b), unless people still use them to apply for or take part in a service. A service application form posted years ago and still in use generally must conform. For the details on meeting documents, see are agendas and minutes covered.

Contractors do not change who is responsible. If an engineer, manager or website firm posts documents for the district, they are still the district’s web content.

A worked example: a small water district

A worked example: picture a hypothetical water and sanitation district with a five-member board, one office manager and a website run by an outside firm. It serves about 9,000 people. It meets monthly and posts an agenda, a packet and minutes, plus an annual budget and a rate notice.

Its population does not matter to the date. Whether it served 9,000 people or 90,000, its date would be April 26, 2028.

The outside firm posts the packets under contract, so those packets are the district’s content. Minutes from 2020 can generally stay as they are. The service application form from 2021 is still in use, so it needs fixing. The budget posted in the autumn of 2028 is new and generally must conform when it goes up.

If your district is in Colorado

If your district is in Colorado, a state law already applies. HB21-1110 defines a public entity to include any special district, and the state’s accessibility standards have applied to public entities since July 1, 2024. The federal date is still ahead, but the state standard is already in force.

Colorado’s Office of Information Technology describes the covered local bodies as “Any local government, department, agency, special district, or any other instrumentality of a local government” (OIT plain language guide). Our guide to HB21-1110 explains what the state rules ask and how they are enforced.

What we do about it

What we do about it fits a small district office. Our monthly scan finds new agendas, packets, budgets and notices on your site, whoever posts them, and we fix those documents. Each step is dated in the Readable Record, ready if a customer or resident asks. Read how it works.

This guide explains the rule in plain language. It is not legal advice. For decisions about your town, talk to your attorney.