A. The General Assembly finds that (i) the advent of the information age throughout the United States and around the world has resulted in lasting changes in information and communications technology; (ii) use of information and communications technology by state and state-assisted organizations has become a widespread means of access for employees and the public to obtain information available electronically, but access for persons with disabilities has often been overlooked when developing, designing, purchasing, and deploying the latest information and communications technology; (iii) when presentation of data through information and communications technology is not accessible by persons with disabilities, it prevents them from participating on equal terms in crucial areas of life, such as education and employment; (iv) accessible information and communications technology is often cheaper for the government in the long run because it does not require post-implementation adaptions and does not expose the government to liability under various state and federal laws that require access for persons with disabilities; and (v) the goals of the state in obtaining and deploying the most advanced forms of information and communications technology properly include universal access so that persons with disabilities will not continue to be left out of the latest and future technological innovations.
B. It is the policy of the Commonwealth that all covered entities shall conduct themselves in accordance with the following principles: (i) all persons with disabilities have the right to full participation in the life of the Commonwealth, including the use of information and communications technology that is provided by such covered entities for use by employees, program participants, students, and members of the general public, and (ii) technology purchased in whole or in part with funds provided by the Commonwealth, acquired, or developed in-house by a covered entity to be used for the creation, storage, retrieval, display, or dissemination of information and intended for use by employees, program participants, students, and members of the general public shall be accessible by all persons with disabilities.