ADA Laws for General Surgeon in South Carolina

State Law Summary

South Carolina Does Not Have a Specific Website Accessibility Law for Private Businesses

South Carolina does not have a state statute that explicitly requires private business websites to meet accessibility standards.

Instead, website accessibility obligations generally come from the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Two ADA sections are most relevant:

Title II – applies to state and local government entities
Title III – applies to private businesses that serve the public

Under Title III, businesses considered places of public accommodation must provide equal access to goods and services. Courts increasingly interpret this to include websites and digital services, especially when a website is connected to a physical location.

Businesses typically covered include:

restaurants
retail stores
hotels
healthcare providers
banks
professional service providers.

Most ADA website lawsuits allege that accessibility barriers prevent people with disabilities from accessing services online.

Common barriers cited in legal complaints include:

missing alt text for images
inaccessible forms or checkout pages
keyboard navigation failures
poor color contrast
incompatibility with screen readers.

Because the ADA does not specify a technical standard for websites, courts and settlements usually rely on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 or 2.1 Level AA as the benchmark for accessibility compliance.

Website Compliance Rules

Accessibility Policies for South Carolina Government Websites

Although South Carolina does not have a dedicated website accessibility statute, state government websites follow accessibility policies and standards.

The official state portal states that government sites aim to provide full public access to online information and services for users with disabilities and use testing tools to verify accessibility compliance.

State agencies generally design websites to comply with:

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
WCAG accessibility guidelines

For example, several South Carolina agencies state their websites are developed to meet Section 508 accessibility requirements and WCAG guidelines.

These policies typically apply to:

state agency websites
public service portals
digital forms and documents
online government information systems.

Damages & Penalties

Accessibility Requirements for Schools and Public Institutions

Public schools and universities in South Carolina must ensure accessible digital content under:

ADA Title II
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 508 accessibility standards

For example, the South Carolina Department of Education states that agencies receiving federal funding must ensure electronic information technology—including websites—is accessible to users with disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue burden.

This includes:

school district websites
digital learning platforms
online documents and educational materials.