Utica City School District School Website Accessibility Policy

Utica City School District is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website for students, parents, and members of the community with disabilities. All pages on the Utica City School District 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 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 District web presence which is developed by, maintained by, or offered through the District or third party vendors and open sources.

Website Accessibility

With regard to the Utica City School District website and any official Utica City School District web presence which is developed by, maintained by, or offered through third party vendors and open sources, the Utica City School District 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 Utica City School District programs, services, and activities delivered online.

All existing web content produced by the Utica City School District, 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 June 29, 2022. This Regulation applies to all new, updated, and existing web pages, as well as all web content produced or updated by the Utica City School District 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 Utica City School District web presence that is developed by, maintained by, or offered through the Utica City School District, third party vendors and/or open sources may complain directly to a school administrator, or the school or District webmaster. The initial complaint or grievance should be made using Website Accessibility Complaint/Request Form, however, a verbal complaint or grievance may be made. When a school administrator or School/District webmaster receives the information, they shall immediately inform the website compliance coordinator.

Whether or not a formal complaint or grievance is made, once the Utica City School District 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 the Utica City School District 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. 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.
  • 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 Governing Board Policy shall be maintained at the Utica City School District office. The record shall include a copy of the complaint or grievance filed, report of findings from the investigation, and the disposition of the matter.