SECTION 213.37. Compliance Exceptions and Exemptions

Effective April 18, 2020, all EIR developed, procured, or changed by an institution of higher education shall comply with the standards and specifications of Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title, unless an exception is approved by the president or chancellor of an institution of higher education or an exemption is granted by the department.

(1) Legacy EIR. Any component or portion of existing EIR that complies with an earlier standard issued pursuant to Chapter 206 or Chapter 213 of this title, and the user interface has not been altered on or after April 18, 2020, shall not be required to be modified to conform to this revised rule.

(2) In its accessibility policy, an institution of higher education shall include standards and processes for handling exception requests for all EIR, including those subject to exceptions for a significant difficulty or expense contained in Texas Government Code §2054.460.

(3) Exceptions for a material difficulty or expense pertaining to significant barriers to users under Texas Government Code §2054.460 must be approved in writing by the president or chancellor of an institution of higher education for EIR that does not comply with the standards and specifications described in Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title, pursuant to Texas Government Code §2054.460:

(A) prior to the procurement, completion, use, or deployment; or

(B) at the point the barrier is identified if the vendor is unable to immediately remedy the failure to comply with Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title.

(4) An approved exception for a significant difficulty or expense under Texas Government Code §2054.460 shall include the following:

(A) a date of expiration or duration of the exception;

(B) a plan for alternate means of access for persons with disabilities;

(C) justification for the exception including technical barriers, cost of remediation, fiscal impact for bringing the EIR into compliance, and other identified risks; and

(D) documentation of how the institution of higher education considered alternative solutions and all institution resources available to the program or program component for which the product is being developed, procured, maintained, or used. Examples may include, but are not limited to, institution budget, grants, and alternative vendor or product selections.

(5) Institutions of higher education shall maintain records of approved exceptions in accordance with that institution of higher education's records retention schedule.

(6) The department shall establish and maintain a list of electronic and information technology resources which are determined to be exempt from the standards and specifications of all or part of Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title.

(7) The list of exempt EIR will be posted under the Accessibility section of the department's website.

(8) The following information shall be provided for each exemption listed:

(A) a date of expiration or duration of the exemption;

(B) a plan for alternate means of access for persons with disabilities;

(C) justification for the exemption including technical barriers, cost of remediation, fiscal impact for bringing the EIR into compliance, and other identified risks; and

(D) written approval of the department's executive director.

(9) The department shall establish and publish a policy under the Accessibility section of its website which defines the procedures and standards used to determine which electronic or information resources are exempt from the standards and specifications described in Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title.

Source Note: The provisions of this §213.37 adopted to be effective April 27, 2006, 31 TexReg 3379; amended to be effective September 16, 2008, 33 TexReg 7744; amended to be effective September 18, 2014, 39 TexReg 7565; amended to be effective December 12, 2019, 44 TexReg 7679