Covert Public School District (CPS) is committed to providing persons with disabilities the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability with respect to its website, online learning or e-learning environment and its learning management systems. CPS will provide equal opportunity to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by technology through comparable access to persons with disabilities.

CPS adopts this policy to fulfill this commitment and affirm its intention to comply with the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, 34 C.F.R. Part 104, and Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12131 and 28 C.F.R. Part 35 in all respects.

CPS is fully committed to ensuring that all our web content meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA and Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA) 1.1 requirements of ADA accessibility and compliance standards.

The following person is designated as CPS's Web Accessibility Coordinator, responsible for coordinating and implementing this policy:

Jeremy Payne, Technology Director
Covert Public Schools District
35323 M140 Hwy
Covert, MI 49043
(269)764-3737
Email Jeremy Payne

In furtherance of its commitment, CPS strives to provide access through its website to online content provided or developed by third parties (including vendors, video sharing websites and other sources of online content) only if it is in an accessible format.  CPS's administrators and staff are aware of this requirement for selection of online content provided to students.  Covert Public Schools’ Web Accessibility Coordinator or his/her designee will vet third party online content available on its website for compliance with its technical standard using the tools and techniques described in the “Regular Audit” section of this document.

Annual online or in-person training will be provided for School District web content owners/editors who are responsible for creating and distributing information through the School District’s website.  This training will be provided to any staff (administrators, faculty, support staff, et al.) responsible for online content. The training will include information regarding the Covert Public Schools Web Accessibility Policy and their role and responsibilities to ensure that web design, documents, and multimedia content are accessible. For those needing additional assistance, individualized or classroom instruction will be provided.  The training will be facilitated by an individual with sufficient knowledge, skill, and experience to understand and employ the technical standards adopted by the District.

An accessibility audit (Audit) will be completed twice per year under the direction of the Web Accessibility Coordinator. All School District web content will be measured  against WCAG 2.0 AA and WAI-ARIA 1.1 accessibility guidelines. All elements of the School District’s web content including but not limited to video, audio, pdf files, and content provided by third parties will be included as part of the Audit.

A variety of tools will be utilized as part of the Audit, including SortSite by PowerMapper, the WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool at http://wave.webaim.org/, CynthiaSays at http://www.cynthiasays.com/Home.aspx, and manual checking.

A report will be created to track the status of each audit.  A list of errors that do not meet accessibility standards will be provided with the content owner/editor along with directions on how to resolve the error(s). The content owner/editor will have the option to either fix the issue within 21 days or remove the page or element that does not meet accessibility standards. Follow-up will be provided by the Web Accessibility Coordinator to make sure the problem is resolved.

If any student, prospective student, employee, guest, or visitor believes that CPS has violated the technical standards in its online content, s/he may contact the Web Accessibility Coordinator with any accessibility concerns. 

Jeremy Payne, Technology Director
Covert Public Schools District
35323 M140 Hwy
Covert, MI 49043
(269)764-3737
Email Jeremy Payne

Online content users may file a formal complaint through the district’s Section 504 and Title II grievance procedure.  An individual may also file a formal complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the following address. 

U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
Cleveland Office
1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 325
Cleveland, OH 44115
Telephone: (216) 522-4970
FAX: (216) 522-2573
Email Cleveland U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights

For information about the complaint procedure used by the Office of Civil Rights click here.