Americans with Disabilities Act Public Notice
The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is committed to provide equal access to employment, programs, services, and activities to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with Title I and II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, Montana Human Rights Act, and the Governmental Code of Fair Practices.
Employment
The OPI does not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities in any aspect of employment. The OPI provides reasonable accommodations upon request, to qualified individuals with disabilities during all phases of employment including the selection process. The OPI encourages applicants with disabilities, including disabled veterans and their eligible relatives, to apply for employment preference in accordance with Title 39, Montana Code Annotated, Chapters 29 and 30.
Effective Communication
The OPI generally provides requested auxiliary aids and services to promote equally effective communication to qualified individuals with disabilities who wish to participate in programs, services, and activities offered by the OPI. Appropriate auxiliary aids and services may include, but are not limited to, qualified sign language interpreters, amplified hearing devices, or other methods to promote effective communication. The OPI will provide alternative formats of written communications upon request (e.g., Braille, electronic, audio, etc.). Contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov or call 711 for assistance.
Modifications to Policies & Procedures
The OPI makes reasonable modifications to policies and procedures to ensure people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in OPI programs, services, and activities. For example, the OPI welcomes service animals in areas where it generally prohibits pets.
Anyone needing an auxiliary aid or service or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in an OPI program, service, or activity should contact the event organizer or the OPI’s ADA Coordinator at (406) 444-3161. Requests should be made at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled event.
The OPI does not place surcharges on individuals with disabilities to offset the cost of providing auxiliary aids, services or reasonable modifications. For example, the OPI will not charge participants for the services of an interpreter when the participant is attending a program, service, or activity offered by the OPI.
The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require the OPI to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of the program, service, or activity or impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the OPI.
Contact the OPI's ADA Coordinator at (406) 444-3161 if you have any questions or concerns about the accessibility of employment, programs, services, or activities, or if you wish to file a complaint.
Web Accessibility
The OPI has redesigned its website to provide content that is accessible to the widest possible audience regardless of technology or ability. The website has been designed to align with best practices identified by Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA and the Web Accessibility Initiative Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 for web content and functionality.
Currently, the OPI is actively working to improve the accessibilty of Word, Excel and PDF content on its website. The OPI thanks you in advance for your understanding and patience as these documents are redesigned and improved for accessibility.
Read more about what the OPI is doing to support online accessibility on the Web Accessibility page.
If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing information on this website, please email opiada@mt.gov or call the ADA Coordinator at 406-444-3161 for assistance. Include the following info in your request:
• The nature of the accessibility problem
• The web address of the requested material and/or title of the document
• Your contact information
Note on PDF Accessibility
A large amount of the OPI’s content is in PDF or Portable Document Format. PDFs are viewed using Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe’s website.
Instructions for using Adobe’s screen reader or magnifier tools