Government Adoption of Drupal
and Its Accessibility Practices
Drupal powers 8.3% of U.S. government websites. States like Colorado, Oregon, Kansas, and Texas rely on Tyler Technologies Drupal portals - but platform-level compliance alone is not enough. This report examines what genuine accessibility requires.
Government Adoption of Drupal and Its Accessibility Practices
Drupal's Commitment to Accessibility
Drupal is an open-source content management system (CMS) with a strong accessibility focus. Since Drupal 7, the core codebase has been aligned with WCAG 2.0 Level AA, and the Drupal community continues to work toward WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance. The project also integrates principles from the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG 2.0), encouraging interfaces that help editors create accessible content.
Current standard
WCAG 2.0 AA (core)
Target
WCAG 2.2 AA conformance
Authoring standard
ATAG 2.0 principles
Drupal's Accessibility Team tracks accessibility issues, makes them release-blocking, and applies automated tools such as WAVE, Axe, and Microsoft Accessibility Insights. However, the team stresses that manual testing and feedback from people with lived experience are essential because automated tools have limitations. In short, Drupal offers accessible-ready themes and coding standards but recognises that full accessibility requires human evaluation and remediation.
Government Use of Drupal
A 2024 survey of U.S. government websites found Drupal to be one of the top five CMS platforms. Governments choose Drupal because it is open-source, flexible, and has a strong community of contributors and accessibility experts.
8.3%
of all government websites
7.3%
of city websites
8.4%
of county websites
Several states have invested in Drupal-based platforms through partnerships with Tyler Technologies, hosting hundreds of state and local government websites on a shared Drupal infrastructure.
State Adoptions via Tyler Technologies
Colorado's Content Management Solution
The Colorado CMS training site notes that the state's CMS is built on Drupal. Tyler Colorado developed a multi-site distribution platform that gives municipalities the flexibility to customise their sites. Users can create pages, manage roles and permissions, and choose from accessible design components.
Accessibility and VPAT
Tyler Colorado produced a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) for its Drupal Component Library. The July 2024 VPAT states that evaluation methods included both automated and manual testing using screen readers such as NVDA and ZoomText. The VPAT covers WCAG 2.1 A and AA success criteria.
Contract with SIPA
The Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) contracted with Tyler Colorado to operate Colorado's digital portal. The contract includes a service catalogue, governance oversight, and monthly vulnerability scans with quarterly accessibility scans and remediation plans. SIPA and Tyler Colorado host and develop websites for more than 497 state agencies and local governments, with about 500 Colorado government websites currently in production.
Oregon's E-Government Program
Oregon's E-Government Program uses a Tyler Technologies-supported CMS. The program states that Oregon.gov websites are supported by an enterprise CMS with accessible templates and web components. Agencies can customise their sites independently or engage Tyler Oregon's web team for design and redesign projects.
Scale of service
Tyler Oregon provides over 300 services to more than 100 state agencies, including 134 state websites built under the E-Government Program.
Kansas.gov portal
The official Kansas.gov portal is maintained by Tyler Kansas. The state's Terms of Use Agreement confirms that the portal is owned by the Information Network of Kansas (INK), but "the site is developed and maintained by Tyler Kansas, under contract with the Information Network of Kansas, Inc." This arrangement mirrors Colorado's partnership, showing that Tyler provides digital government services across multiple states.
Digital government services
Tyler Technologies operates a digital government branch in Texas. The Tyler Texas site markets itself as a "digital government expert" and claims to deliver user-centred design, plain language, 100% accessibility, and secure services. Although this is a marketing claim rather than a formal accessibility statement, it signals that Tyler's state-level portals emphasise accessibility.
Summary of Adoption
Drupal's flexibility and accessibility focus have made it a popular choice for government websites. Beyond individual municipalities using Drupal, entire states such as Colorado, Oregon, Kansas, and Texas use Tyler Technologies' Drupal-based portals to host hundreds of state and local websites. Tyler Colorado's and Tyler Oregon's contracts include quarterly accessibility scans and remediation plans, and Kansas.gov's terms confirm that Tyler Kansas maintains the site. These examples show that Drupal has become a trusted platform for government web services, but accessibility is maintained through continuous monitoring, manual testing, and remediation rather than assumed through the platform alone.
Complementing Drupal with A3S and Demonstrating Good-Faith Compliance
Why Third-Party Support Is Needed
Although Drupal core is aligned with WCAG and includes accessible-ready themes, content creators and administrators remain responsible for meeting accessibility requirements. The Drupal community itself warns that automated tools are insufficient and that usability testing and manual evaluation are necessary to uncover barriers. State contracts with Tyler Colorado require quarterly accessibility scans and remediation plans, and Oregon's E-Government Program notes that agencies can choose to engage Tyler Oregon's web team for site design and improvement.
These provisions imply that platform-level support alone cannot guarantee compliance; agencies must allocate resources and expertise to audit and remediate their sites. Case law and recent legislation emphasise that continuous efforts and documented progress are critical to legal defensibility:
This 2024 law grants Colorado public entities a one-year immunity period if they demonstrate good-faith efforts toward compliance, defined as posting quarterly progress reports on accessibility remediation and providing an easy process for users to request redress. The law requires that progress reports explain the steps taken to make the site accessible and any future work, thereby prioritising continuous documentation. If a lawsuit is filed during this period and the entity demonstrates good faith, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice.
This earlier statute mandates that state agencies implement an accessibility plan by July 1, 2024, and treats noncompliance as discrimination. It underscores that having a plan and making progress are legal expectations.
This federal settlement required ADP to engage an accessibility expert, conduct manual testing, and address accessibility barriers in its web and mobile apps. It explicitly stated that overlay solutions "do not suffice to achieve Accessibility" and that ongoing accessibility monitoring is required.
These laws and cases show that courts and regulators expect organizations to audit their sites using both automated and manual methods, correct issues, and document their progress. Mere reliance on an accessible platform or an overlay is insufficient; continuous effort must be demonstrable through regular reports and remediation actions.
How A3S Complements Drupal
A3S offers a structured workflow that aligns with the legal expectations above. Its four-phase process - Discovery, Remediation, Validation, and Maintenance - includes manual testing, code remediation, and documentation. During the final phase, A3S produces an official Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) based on the VPAT template and an updated accessibility statement. A3S continues to monitor sites and provides monthly reports that document fixes, outstanding issues, future plans, and evidence of continuous progress.
A3S maintains a close working relationship with the Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA), which oversees Colorado's digital government portal. Through this partnership, A3S helps SIPA and its contractor Tyler Colorado identify and report accessibility violations in the state's core Drupal platform, ensuring that issues uncovered by quarterly scans are communicated and addressed promptly. This collaboration demonstrates how third-party vendors can strengthen accountability and support the continuous improvement model required by accessibility laws.
Manual audits and remediation
Drupal's accessibility team emphasises manual testing. A3S provides expert evaluation for individual municipal websites, ensuring that custom content, third-party plugins, and documents meet WCAG 2.1/2.2 standards.
Continuous monitoring
Colorado's contract requires quarterly accessibility scans. A3S supplements these scans with monthly reports and issue logs, helping agencies comply with laws like HB24-1454 that mandate regular progress updates.
Evidence of compliance
By documenting every audit, remediation task, and improvement, A3S provides the paper trail needed to mount a defense under laws like HB24-1454 and to respond to ADA complaints. This documentation also demonstrates to procurement officers that the agency's website is under active remediation, thereby fulfilling the spirit of HB21-1110.
Complement to state-level support
Tyler Colorado and Tyler Oregon provide platform-level support but leave content accessibility to agencies. A3S can partner with agencies to train content editors, fix inaccessible PDFs and web content, ensuring that updates remain compliant - a critical step because Drupal's open-source ecosystem allows for countless configurations and modules.
Conclusion
Drupal's open-source nature, robust accessibility standards, and wide adoption make it a strong foundation for government websites. However, as evidenced by statutory requirements and case law, legal compliance depends on continuous, documented accessibility efforts.
States like Colorado, Oregon, Kansas, and Texas have turned to Tyler Technologies to host Drupal-based portals, but these contracts include regular accessibility scans and remediation plans, and Kansas explicitly contracts with Tyler Kansas to develop and maintain its site.
To meet rising legal expectations, municipalities using Drupal should engage third-party vendors like A3S that provide manual testing, remediation, and monthly reporting. This partnership ensures that accessibility issues are identified and fixed, progress is documented, and agencies can demonstrate good faith - essential ingredients for legal defensibility.
Appendix: Sources
- Drupal.org accessibility page explaining that Drupal core aligns with WCAG 2.0 AA and aims for WCAG 2.2 AA compliance. Link
- Drupal accessibility team description: issues can block releases; automated tools are used, but manual testing is essential. Link
- The Drupal accessibility page notes that automated tools have limitations and manual testing with user feedback is required. Link
- PrometSource study showing that Drupal powers 8.3% of government websites. Link
- Colorado CMS training site: Tyler Colorado built a Drupal multi-site distribution platform for the state's Content Management Solution. Link
- VPAT for Tyler Colorado's Drupal Component Library: evaluation used automated and manual testing with assistive technologies. Link
- SIPA Legislative Report: contract with Tyler Colorado includes service catalogue, governance, and monthly vulnerability scans with quarterly accessibility scans and remediation plans. Link
- SIPA report: more than 497 state agencies/local governments use Tyler Colorado services; about 500 Colorado government websites are hosted. Link
- Tyler Oregon page: Oregon.gov websites are supported by an enterprise CMS with accessible templates; agencies can customise or engage Tyler Oregon for design projects. Link
- Oregon E-Government Program: Tyler Oregon provides over 300 services to more than 100 state agencies. Link
- Oregon services snapshot: 134 state websites built under the E-Government program. Link
- Kansas.gov Terms of Use: The site is developed and maintained by Tyler Kansas, under contract with the Information Network of Kansas (INK). Link
- Tyler Texas marketing site: emphasises user-centred design, plain language, and "100% accessibility". Link
- Colorado HB24-1454: one-year immunity for agencies demonstrating good-faith accessibility efforts, requiring quarterly progress reports and a redress process. Link
- CIRSA article on HB24-1454: elaborates that good faith requires quarterly progress reports and that lawsuits filed during the immunity period must be dismissed if good faith is shown. Link
- Colorado HB21-1110: mandates accessibility plans for state agencies with compliance deadlines; noncompliance is discrimination. Link
- LightHouse v. ADP settlement: overlay solutions do not suffice; the settlement requires manual testing and remediation. Link
- A3S website: describes the final validation phase producing an official VPAT certification and updated accessibility statement. Link
Using Drupal? Make Compliance Provable.
Platform-level accessibility is the starting point, not the finish line. A3S adds continuous monitoring, manual testing, monthly reports, and the legal documentation that Colorado HB24-1454 and the courts expect.
Important Note: This report is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For legal counsel specific to your situation, please consult a qualified attorney. A3S provides accessibility consulting, auditing, and remediation services.