                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

FINDINGS; POLICY (§ 2.2-3500)

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.

HISTORY: 1999, cc. 769, 773, § 2.1-807; 2001, c. 844; 2025, c. 571.