Mendocino County Office of Education

The Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE) is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website for students, parents, and members of the community with disabilities. All pages on the MCOE website will conform to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative’s (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA conformance, or updated equivalents of these guidelines.

The Superintendent or designee is directed to establish procedures whereby students, parents, and members of the public may present a complaint regarding a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504, and Title II related to the accessibility of any official MCOE web presence developed by, maintained by, or offered through MCOE or third-party vendors and open sources.

Website Accessibility

With regard to the MCOE website and any official MCOE web presence that is developed by, maintained by, or offered through third-party vendors and open sources, MCOE is committed to compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 and Title II so that students, parents and members of the public with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same benefits and services within the same timeframe as those without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease of use; and that they are not excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination in any MCOE programs, services, and activities delivered online.

All existing web content produced by MCOE, and new, updated and existing web content provided by third-party developers, will conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA conformance, or updated equivalents, by April 1, 2024. This Regulation applies to all new, updated, and existing web pages, and all web content produced or updated by MCOE or provided by third-party developers.

Website Accessibility Concerns, Complaints and Grievances

A student, parent, or member of the public who wishes to submit a complaint or grievance regarding a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 or Title II related to the accessibility of any official MCOE web presence that is developed by, maintained by, or offered through MCOE, third party vendors and/or open sources may complain directly to a school administrator or the MCOE webmaster. The initial complaint or grievance should be made using the Website Accessibility Complaint/Request Form; however, a verbal complaint or grievance may be made. When the MCOE webmaster receives the information, they shall immediately inform the website compliance coordinator.

Whether or not a formal complaint or grievance is made, once MCOE has been notified of inaccessible content, effective communication shall be provided as soon as possible to the reporting party to provide access to the information. The Complainant should not have to wait for the investigation of the complaint to be concluded before receiving the information that he/she was unsuccessful in accessing.

Complaints should be submitted in writing, via email, or by completing the website complaint form. To file a complaint or grievance regarding the inaccessibility of MCOE public website content, the Complainant should submit the website feedback form.

The formal ADA non-compliance complaint should include the following:

• Name
• Address
• Date of the Complaint
• Description of the problem encountered
• Web address or location of the problem page
• Solution desired
• Contact information in case more details are needed (email and phone number)

The complaint or grievance will be investigated by the website compliance coordinator or another person designated by the Superintendent or designee. The student, parent, or member of the public shall be contacted no later than five (5) working days following the date the website accessibility compliance coordinator receives the information. The procedures to be followed are:

• An investigation of the complaint shall be completed within fifteen (15) working days. Extension of the timeline may only be approved by the Superintendent or designee.
• The investigator shall prepare a written report of the findings and conclusions within five (5) working days of the completion of the investigation.
• The investigator shall contact the Complainant upon conclusion of the investigation to discuss the findings and conclusions and actions to be taken as a result of the investigation.
• A record of each complaint and grievance made pursuant to County Superintendent Regulation 1113a shall be maintained at the MCOE office. The record shall include a copy of the complaint or grievance filed, a report of findings from the investigation, and the disposition of the matter.