At a Glance Legal Exposure
The core problem: Colorado’s HB21-1110 is unique nationally — it lets individuals sue for $3,500 per violation, payable directly to the plaintiff. With 43 documented findings, that’s up to $150,500 in statutory damages alone. Meanwhile, Section 504 puts $15M+ in annual federal funding at risk of termination. And the good-faith defense that might have protected Laradon expired seven months ago.
Expired
Good-Faith Defense
Four legal frameworks converge on Laradon simultaneously. Colorado HB21-1110 is unique nationally — it allows $3,500 per violation payable directly to the plaintiff. With 43 findings, that's up to $150,500 in statutory damages alone. The good-faith grace period expired 7 months ago.
Risk Board-Level Assessment
4 / 5
Legal (ADA Title III)
Nonprofit = public accommodation; web accessibility cases routinely litigated nationwide
4 / 5
Funding / Section 504
HHS regulations explicitly cover web; ~$15M+/yr in federal funding at risk of termination
Findings → Law How Technical Failures Create Legal Exposure
Each finding from What We Found maps to specific legal consequences. These aren't abstract risks — they're evidence chains a plaintiff or regulator would use.
Finding No Skip Navigation
↓ creates
100+ tab stops per page → 0 of 4 user journeys pass keyboard → fails WCAG 2.4.1
↓ triggers
HB21-1110: $3,500 per violation. Section 504: excludes people with motor disabilities from programs. Title III: nexus to physical services broken.
Finding Countdown Timer
↓ creates
Rapidly changing digits with no pause → seizure trigger for photosensitive epilepsy → fails WCAG 2.2.1, 2.2.2
↓ triggers
HB21-1110: medical harm to served population. Section 504: denies safe access to donation flow. Title III: discriminatory condition on fundraising.
Finding Lorem Ipsum on Homepage
↓ creates
Placeholder text on a live site serving people with IDD → "cognitive trap" → fails WCAG 3.1.1
↓ triggers
HB21-1110: demonstrates no good-faith effort — forfeits grace period defense. Section 504: excludes users with cognitive disabilities from program info.
Finding No Accessibility Statement
↓ creates
No feedback channel → frustrated users become plaintiffs instead of reporters
↓ triggers
HB21-1110: no "safety valve" to redirect complaints. Section 504: no documented compliance effort for OCR review. Title II: districts can't verify vendor compliance.
Finding Broken Contact Links
↓ creates
4 dead emails on
Contact Us → families in crisis hit dead ends
↓ triggers
Title III: "nexus" to physical services severed — can't reach Laradon to access programs. Section 504: effective denial of service to qualified individuals.
Finding Hover-Only Menus
↓ creates
Keyboard/switch users cannot access any sub-pages → entire site sections unreachable
↓ triggers
All 4 laws: total barrier to service discovery. Title II flow-down: districts can't point families to Laradon's school page by keyboard.
Law 1 Colorado HB21-1110
Exposure: $3,500 × 43 findings = up to $150,500
"Each state agency shall ensure that all new and existing information technology that is developed, procured, maintained, or used by the state agency is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities."
How it applies to Laradon: Private contractors performing essential public services are treated as extensions of the state for liability purposes. Laradon contracts with 24 public school districts to provide special education services — a function districts are obligated to deliver under IDEA. This creates a strong argument that Laradon's web presence falls under this mandate.
→ View full statute at Colorado General Assembly
The legal test has three elements:
1
Is Laradon a "state agency" or equivalent?
Laradon is a private nonprofit, but it functions as a
state instrumentality. It contracts with
24 public school districts to provide special education services — an essential public function the state must deliver under IDEA. The
Colorado OIT FAQ confirms the law covers entities "that provide services on behalf of state and local government agencies."
CU Anschutz and
Level Access confirm this broad reach.
2
Does it use "information technology"?
laradon.org is a public-facing website. It is information technology by any definition.
3
Is that technology inaccessible?
This audit documents
43 unique WCAG 2.2 AA violations across 12 pages. Zero of four critical user journeys are completable by keyboard. The site is approximately 25% compliant. The
homepage contains lorem ipsum. The
contact page has four broken email links. There is no accessibility statement.
"The court shall award to a prevailing plaintiff damages of three thousand five hundred dollars for each violation proven at trial."
Why this is unique: Unlike federal ADA cases (which primarily seek injunctive relief — ordering the entity to fix the problem), Colorado's law provides direct monetary damages payable to the plaintiff. This creates a financial incentive for lawsuits. With 43 documented violations, maximum statutory exposure is $3,500 × 43 = $150,500.
The good-faith defense has expired: HB24-1454 extended the grace period to July 2025 — but only for entities demonstrating good-faith compliance efforts. Lorem ipsum on the homepage, broken contact links, and zero keyboard-accessible user journeys 7 months past deadline demonstrate the opposite.
→ View full statute at Colorado General Assembly
Law 2 HHS Section 504
Exposure: ~$15M+/year in federal funding at risk
"No otherwise qualified individual with a disability… shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
How it applies to Laradon: Laradon receives substantial federal funding through CDE (special education contracts), HCPF (Medicaid waivers for adult day programs), and other federal grants totaling an estimated $15M+/year. Any entity receiving federal financial assistance must ensure its programs — including digital touchpoints — are accessible to people with disabilities. The HHS May 2024 Final Rule mandates WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance by May 11, 2026 for recipients with 15+ employees. Laradon has ~210 employees.
→ View HHS Section 504 overview
The legal test has three elements:
1
Does Laradon receive federal financial assistance?
2
Does the 2024 Final Rule apply (size threshold)?
3
Is a qualified individual being excluded or denied benefits?
"Recipients… must ensure that their web content… [is] accessible… in compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA… The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) may investigate, mandate corrective action, and terminate funding."
The enforcement mechanism: HHS OCR can investigate complaints, conduct compliance reviews, and — critically — suspend or terminate federal funding. For Laradon, this places approximately $15M+/year at risk. Unlike ADA Title III (which relies on lawsuits), Section 504 operates through administrative enforcement, meaning OCR has direct authority to cut funding without court proceedings.
Deadline: May 11, 2026 (84 days from this report date). Laradon has 210+ employees, exceeding the 15-employee threshold that triggers immediate compliance.
→ Read HHS Final Rule (PDF)
Law 3 DOJ ADA Title II
Exposure: 24 district contracts at risk of termination
"State and local governments must ensure that the web content and mobile apps they provide to the public meet WCAG Version 2.1, Level AA technical standards… including content provided through a contractor or vendor."
The legal logic (indirect applicability via "flow-down"):
1
Title II directly covers state and local government entities
Title II covers "public entities" — state and local governments, including public school districts. This is not disputed.
2
School districts are government entities
Laradon's
School page states it serves students from
24 different school districts across Colorado. Laradon is a contracted provider of special education services — a function the districts are legally obligated to provide under IDEA.
3
Laradon contracts with 24 of them
The
DOJ First Steps Guide explicitly states:
"A public entity that uses a contractor or vendor to operate a service, program, or activity must ensure that the contractor or vendor complies."
4
The rule extends to content "provided through a contractor"
As districts update procurement policies to meet their April 24, 2026 deadline, they will require WCAG 2.1 AA compliance from all vendors. Laradon currently cannot certify this.
Saiber and
Arcstone confirm this flow-down interpretation.
Conclusion: Title II doesn't directly regulate Laradon. But it regulates the
24 school districts Laradon serves — and those districts will demand WCAG compliance from contractors or face their own liability. If Laradon can't certify accessibility,
districts may terminate contracts. This transforms accessibility into a
business continuity prerequisite. Deadline:
April 24, 2026 (67 days).
UC Berkeley.
Law 4 ADA Title III
ADA Title III
Ongoing — no deadline needed
Exposure: $5K–$270K per lawsuit
"No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation."
The legal test has two elements:
1
Is Laradon a "place of public accommodation"?
Title III lists 12 categories. Laradon fits at least two: (5)
"or other service establishment" — Laradon provides services to the public; and (7)
"or other place of public gathering" — Laradon holds
public events. The 9th Circuit in
Robles v. Domino's (2019) held that a website connected to a physical location qualifies.
2
Does its website constitute "goods, services, or privileges" offered?
Laradon's site is
transactional — the gateway to physical services:
Donations (financial transactions),
Events (ticket purchases),
Volunteer (intake forms),
Careers (job applications — also intersects ADA Title I),
Contact (entry point for families). Each touchpoint has a direct nexus to physical services.
Conclusion: Laradon is a public accommodation offering transactional web services with a direct nexus to physical programs. No deadline exists, but
no deadline is required to file suit. The
DOJ 2022 Guidance confirms ADA applies to web. Federal lawsuits exceeded 5,100 in 2025 (
Accessible.org). Settlements: $5K–$270K (
TestParty).
Saul Ewing.
Colorado HB21-1110 — The Unique Threat
$3,500 Per Violation — Payable to Plaintiff
Unlike federal ADA (which primarily uses injunctive relief — courts order you to fix it),
Colorado HB21-1110 allows
$3,500 per violation payable directly to the plaintiff. With 43 identified findings, theoretical maximum exposure =
$150,500 in statutory damages alone, before legal fees. This fundamentally changes the cost calculus — plaintiffs have a financial incentive to file in Colorado.
"Good Faith" Defense — Forfeited
Original deadline: July 1, 2024. HB24-1454 extended to July 2025 — only for entities demonstrating good-faith efforts. Lorem ipsum + broken contacts + no statement + zero keyboard nav 7 months past deadline = the legal shield is gone.
"Awareness Without Action"
A hidden page at
/careers-2/ says "Laradon strives to make laradon.org accessible… please contact HR." Not linked from any page. No feedback email. This proves
someone at Laradon was aware of the obligation — and chose not to act. Worse than ignorance:
conscious inaction.
Duplicate URL (/careers-2/ vs /careers/) also signals absent QA
Concepts Key Legal Doctrines
"Non-Delegable Duty"
Laradon retains legal liability for all third-party tools on its site — EveryAction (donations), ApplyToJob (careers), Elementor (page builder). Outsourcing a function does not outsource the obligation. If EveryAction's form is inaccessible, Laradon is the defendant.
"Flow-Down" Liability
Laradon's
24 school districts are public entities updating procurement to require WCAG warranties from vendors. If Laradon can't certify,
districts may terminate contracts to avoid assuming liability. Accessibility = business continuity.
HHS OCR Enforcement
Under
Section 504, the
HHS OCR can investigate complaints, mandate corrective action, and
suspend or terminate federal funding. Laradon's
~$18M budget is primarily federal —
~$15M+/yr at stake.
Cases Illustrative Lawsuits
No widely reported lawsuit specifically targets a disability-serving nonprofit comparable to Laradon — but these cases establish the precedents that make one inevitable if barriers persist.
2019
Robles v. Domino's Pizza 9th Cir.
Title III web/app claim allowed without specific DOJ regulations. Courts don't need a deadline to act.
2015
NFB v. Scribd D. Vt.
Online-only business = "public accommodation." Laradon's website is its primary public interface.
2012
NAD v. Netflix D. Mass.
Title III applies to streaming/digital services. Caption accessibility mandate established.
2020
Blind users v. Girl Scouts Nonprofit
Nonprofit youth-serving entity targeted. Like Laradon, a mission-driven org serving vulnerable populations whose site failed basic accessibility.
Note: "The absence of a known case against a comparable disability nonprofit is not proof of safety; it may reflect plaintiff targeting preferences and media coverage bias." — Audit analysis
Data Litigation Landscape
5,500+
Projected 2026 filings
$50K–$300K+
Reactive total cost
40%
Pro se filings increase (technology-enabled) · Seyfarth Shaw
$3,500
CO HB21-1110 statutory — per violation ·
CO OIT FAQ
Pro se surge: Technology is enabling self-filed ADA lawsuits — plaintiffs generate demand letters with minimal legal expertise.
DarrowEverett analysis.