All EIR developed, procured, or changed by a state agency shall comply with the standards and specifications of Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title, unless the agency head approves an exception subject to this chapter or, as applicable, the DOJ Title II Rule, or the department grants an exemption.

1. (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 shall not be required to be modified to conform to this revised rule unless the EIR is required to comply with the DOJ Title II Rule.
2. (2) In its accessibility policy, an agency shall include standards and processes for handling exception requests for all EIR, including those subject to exceptions for a significant barrier or expense contained in Texas Government Code § 2054.460.

3. (3) The agency head must approve in writing exceptions for a material difficulty or expense pertaining to significant barriers to users under Texas Government Code § 2054.460 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:

   1. (A) prior to the procurement, completion, use, or deployment; or
   2. (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. (4) An approved exception for a significant barrier or expense under Texas Government Code § 2054.460 shall include the following:

   1. (A) List of compliance issues posing a risk to the agency with anticipated impact of each issue;
   2. (B) a date of expiration or duration of the exception;
   3. (C) a plan for alternate means of access for persons with disabilities;
   4. (D) justification for the exception including technical barriers, cost of remediation, fiscal impact for bringing the EIR into compliance, and other identified risks; and
   5. (E) documentation of how the agency considered alternative solutions and all agency 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, agency budget, grants, and alternative vendor or product selections.
5. (5) Agencies shall maintain records of approved exceptions in accordance with the agency's records retention schedule.

Source Note:The provisions of this §213.17 adopted to be effective April 27, 2006, 31 TexReg 3379; amended to be effective September 16, 2008, 33 TexReg 7744; amended to be effective November 17, 2009, 34 TexReg 8027; amended to be effective September 18, 2014, 39 TexReg 7565; amended to be effective December 12, 2019, 44 TexReg 7679; amended to be effective June 16, 2026, 51 TexReg 3877.