how do I force a single column layout in screen layout

I am using multipress, but users with small screens cannot access the HTML tab as the Publish meta box has a div that slides above it, disabling the ability to click it. One idea is to force a single column layout, but there are no options for this in screen options. Is there another way to do it?

You can use the filter screen_layout_columns to set only one column for the post screen get_user_option_screen_layout_post to force the user option to 1.

If you want to use that for custom post type then use
get_user_option_screen_layout_{post_type}

The following code will do it:

function so_screen_layout_columns( $columns ) {
    $columns['post'] = 1;
    return $columns;
}
add_filter( 'screen_layout_columns', 'so_screen_layout_columns' );

function so_screen_layout_post() {
    return 1;
}
add_filter( 'get_user_option_screen_layout_post', 'so_screen_layout_post' );