North Dakota may remove content from websites to satify Title II Rule

North Dakota may remove content from websites to satisfy Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Larger governments must comply by April 2024, while smaller ones have until 2027. Failure to meet the requirements could lead to lawsuits.

Because accessibility updates can be costly and time‑consuming, some officials warn that agencies—especially small towns with very limited budgets—may remove online content rather than update it. This could reduce public transparency, particularly for complex documents like audits, engineering reports, or older files.

During a special legislative session, North Dakota Information Technology requested $1.5 million to help state agencies update their sites and purchase an accessibility‑scanning tool. Lawmakers approved the funding and allowed local governments to join the contract, but did not provide money to help cities and counties pay for it. Some small communities may have to rely on free tools instead.

State agencies are triaging content, updating critical information first and potentially archiving or temporarily removing less essential material. Older documents may be exempt if they were posted before the compliance deadline or stored in a clearly labeled archive.

Some cities, like Fargo, say they haven’t removed content due to accessibility rules, while others, like Bismarck, have taken down outdated pages as part of normal site maintenance. Officials worry that smaller towns may hesitate to post new content in the future, reducing the usefulness of local government websites.

Media advocates note that this situation highlights the risks of relying solely on government websites for public notices, since content may be removed or altered. The state’s newspaper‑run public notice site remains a stable long‑term archive.

Read more about the desision on the News from the sates website.