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State of Colorado Accessibility Newsletter - May/June 2026

Group of people sitting around a table working together.

Staying the Course With TAP on Accessibility

By Karen Pellegrin, TAP Senior Manager

Despite recent changes at the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT), the Technology Accessibility Program (TAP) continues to support our state and local government as usual. Our dedication to digital accessibility by default and ensuring accessible digital services across Colorado remains unchanged. We will continue to provide support and resources to help your organization further mature its accessibility efforts and comply with HB21-1110.

Our core message to you today is simple:

Our mission, daily operations, and statewide support remain the same. Together, we ensure that all Coloradans, including people with disabilities have equal access to vital online government services.

What You Can Expect Moving Forward

  • Business as Usual: All current program work and initiatives are proceeding as planned. You will still receive our newsletter, and we will still provide support via our state services and OIT Accessibility email inbox.
  • Consistent Contact: Your day-to-day interactions with our team will remain the same.
  • A Reliable Support Partner: Our primary focus remains unchanged: ensuring that digital programs and services are accessible to every Coloradan, and our daily work is entirely dedicated to this goal.
  • Supporting OIT’s Mission: TAP, housed within OIT, is dedicated to ensuring the agency's success by leveraging the best technology to serve Coloradans. 

We deeply value our strong relationships across the state. Thank you for your continued partnership and shared dedication to digital accessibility in Colorado.

Federal Rules Update

The Federal Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights just announced an Interim Final Rule (IFR) extending, for one year, the compliance dates that recipients of HHS funding must meet for conforming web content and mobile applications.

HHS implemented the same one-year delay in the WCAG rule as the DOJ did last month. The agency has modified the deadlines in response to concerns that a significant number of government entities and recipients of federal financial assistance, such as community health centers, large and small hospitals, and primary care centers, would not be able to meet the upcoming compliance deadlines

However, this interim rule only delays the implementation of WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the standard; it does not eliminate the requirement to provide effective communication and equal access under the ADA. We must continue to build and sustain the momentum we’ve already worked so hard to build, especially in Colorado.

We will continue to monitor federal rules and provide guidance and resources to our state and local government entities to meet Colorado statutory requirements. So, keep calm and a11y on!

Celebrating GAAD This Year 

By Karen Pellegrin, TAP Senior Manager

On May 21, 2026, many of us working to advance digital accessibility celebrated the 15th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which aims to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people worldwide living with disabilities or impairments.

As the Technology Accessibility Program (TAP) team reflects on our accessibility journey, we recognize how we’ve built the foundation of awareness and adoption and are now moving into a phase of maturity and continuous improvement. 

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It takes all of us to make a difference, and every action, no matter how big or small, can make all the difference in our efforts to improve accessibility. This year’s theme, “Design, Develop, Deliver,” highlights the importance of including digital accessibility in every stage of your product from design to delivery, or as I like to say, “soup to nuts”. 

Take your own action to improve accessibility from the start! Here are some of the small actions you can take as you design or develop digital products that can make a big difference:

The Shadiness of Dark Patterns

By Chelsea Cook and the TAP team

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so let's explore "dark patterns"—deceptive UX designs that pressure or trick users into unintended actions or reduce the ability to complete a task.

Common Dark Patterns

  • Roach Motel: Easy to join, but nearly impossible to cancel.
  • Misdirection: Using design to hide steps or distract the user.
  • Forced Action: Requiring unnecessary data or accounts for free features.
  • Nagging: Persistent pop-ups that wear down the user.
  • Aggressive Timing: Being forced to complete an action in a short, specific amount of time.

How Dark Patterns Affect Users

If you've ever tried to buy a ticket or sign up for a cable subscription, you know how a dark pattern makes you feel. The unnecessary timers, check boxes and manufactured scarcity are all anxiety-inducing, especially for a transaction that may already be under financial pressure. For people who use screen readers and have cognitive disabilities, the dark pattern can cascade into other accessibility problems. Two examples that come to mind are the one-second ARIA alert, where the screen reader announces: "You have 9:00 minutes remaining ... you have 8:59 minutes remaining ... you have 8:58 minutes remaining," and a keyboard trap around sponsored results or a "mandatory" checkbox. 

Dark patterns induce anxiety through manufactured scarcity and timers. For those with cognitive disabilities or using screen readers, these issues—like constant countdown alerts or keyboard traps—can make transactions impossible. This undermines the positive experience every company or government should provide.

Notable & Quotable

“Accessibility is not about designing for the few. It is designing for us all.”

- Paul Boag, UX consultant and conversion optimization specialist