Appeals Procedure

If you wish to appeal a decision of the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD), you may do so either by writing a letter of appeal to the SLD or to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). A description of what you need to include and how to file such letters appears in Sections I and II below.

Your appeal must be POSTMARKED no later than 60 days after the date of the SLD decision. This deadline applies to appeals filed with the SLD and appeals filed with the FCC.

While you may appeal directly to the FCC, you are encouraged to appeal first to the SLD so that the SLD has an opportunity to review your appeal and grant it, if appropriate.

• If you disagree with the SLD’s response to your appeal of that decision, you may then file an appeal with the FCC. Your appeal must be postmarked no later than 60 days after the date of the SLD’s decision. However, the FCC overturns SLD decisions infrequently.
• If you disagree with the FCC’s response to your letter, you may then file a petition for reconsideration with the FCC. Petitions for reconsideration are excluded from the 60-day deadline since they must, by statute, be RECEIVED by the FCC within 30 days of the FCC decision. For details on how to submit petitions for reconsideration, consult 47 C.F.R. §1.106, which can be found in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Waiver Requests. A waiver is a request to waive an FCC policy, rule or deadline, such as the Form 471 application filing window deadline. For example, if you missed the filing deadline for Form 471 because of extenuating circumstances, the SLD cannot waive the deadline but you can ask the FCC to waive the rules in your case by filing a waiver request. To file a waiver request, follow the instructions listed in Section II below. Please note that waivers are not granted often: only in special circumstances and when a deviation from the rules would serve the public interest. The waiver standard generally requires a showing of circumstances that could not be avoided even with careful planning.

You can look at FCC orders relating to both appeals and waiver requests at the FCC web site’s Appeals Page.

I. For Appeals Filed Directly with the SLD

A. How to prepare your letter of appeal:

1. Include the name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address (if available) for the person who can most readily discuss this appeal with us.
2. State outright that your letter is an appeal. Identify which SLD Decision(s) you are appealing. Indicate the relevant funding year and the date of the document. Your letter of appeal must also include the Billed Entity Name, the relevant form application number (if available), and the Billed Entity Number.
3. When explaining your appeal, copy the language or text from the decision that is at the heart of your appeal to allow the SLD to more readily understand your appeal and respond appropriately. Please keep your letter to the point, and provide documentation to support your appeal. Be sure to keep copies of your correspondence and documentation.
4. Provide an authorized signature on your letter of appeal. When you file your appeal by e-mail (see below), you must include the name, the title and the telephone number of the authorized person.

Please note: The more detail you provide in your letter of appeal to the SLD, the easier it will be for the SLD to respond to your appeal. However, the SLD will thoroughly research your appeal and consider all the documentation you have submitted that relates to the decision you are appealing. For more information, please refer to Appeals — SLD Guidelines for Review posted in the Reference Area of this web site.

B. How to submit your letter of appeal:

1. Send letters of appeal to the following address:

Letter of Appeal
Schools and Libraries Division
Box 125 – Correspondence Unit
80 South Jefferson Road
Whippany, NJ 07981

2. Appeals may also be submitted electronically, either by electronic mail (e-mail) or by fax.

• Appeals submitted by e-mail must be sent to appeals using the organization’s e-mail account. Appeals submitted by e-mail will be considered “postmarked” on a business day if they are sent from the sender’s computer at any time up to 12:00 a.m. (midnight) in the sender’s local time zone. Appeals submitted after that time will be considered “postmarked” on the next business day.
  
  Documents submitted by e-mail can be in any widely used word processing format, such as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), Word or WordPerfect. The SLD will automatically reply to incoming e-mails to confirm receipt. You are advised to keep a copy of this e-mail confirmation for your records. This e-mail address can only be used for appeals.
• Appeals submitted by fax must be sent to 973-599-6542. The fax transmission should include a cover sheet listing contact name, phone number, and — if available — an e-mail address. Fax transmissions will be considered “postmarked” on a business day if the complete transmission is sent from the sender’s fax machine by any time up to 12:00 a.m. (midnight) in the sender’s local time zone. Appeals submitted after that time will be considered “postmarked” on the next business day. You are advised to keep a copy of your fax confirmation sheet for your records.

II. For Appeals and Waiver Requests Filed Directly with the FCC

Please note that the FCC will usually dismiss an appeal if it is filed while the SLD is reviewing the same appeal from you. You can file an appeal with the FCC instead of the SLD or after the SLD has issued its decision on an appeal request.

A. How to prepare your letter of appeal or waiver request:

Follow the guidelines for preparing a letter of appeal contained in Section I, Part A above. In addition:

• Indicate CC Docket No. 02-6 on the first page of your appeal.
• If you are submitting a letter of appeal requesting review of a decision made by the SLD, please use the language "Request for Review" on the first page.
• If you are submitting a request for a waiver, please use the language "Request for Waiver" or "Waiver Request" on the first page.
• If you are alleging prohibitive conduct by a third party, there are additional rules for serving a copy on that third party and allowing them to respond. Consult 47 C.F.R. §54.721, which can be found in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

B. How to submit your letter of appeal or waiver request:

1. Send letters of appeal and waiver requests to the following addresses:

• For items sent via United States Postal Services, including first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail, use the following address:

Federal Communications Commission
Office of the Secretary
445 - 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

• For items sent via other express delivery services, use the following address:

Federal Communications Commission
Office of the Secretary
9300 East Hampton Drive
Capitol Heights, MD 20743 (8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET)

• For hand-delivered or messenger-delivered items, use the following address:

Federal Communications Commission
Office of the Secretary
236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Suite 110
Washington, DC 20002 (8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET)

If you are hand-delivering or messenger-delivering your appeal, please note the following:

• Documents enclosed in envelopes will not be accepted. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building. Hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners.
  
• If a request for confidential treatment is clearly indicated on the first page of the filing, the staff at the filing counter will enclose the filing in a Commission envelope labeled "confidential."

2. Appeals and waiver requests may also be submitted electronically, either by the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or by fax. The FCC recommends filing with the ECFS to ensure timely filing.

• Instructions for using ECFS can be found on the ECFS page of the FCC web site.
• Items filed by fax must be faxed to 202-418-0187. The fax transmission should include a cover sheet listing contact name, phone number, and — if available — an e-mail address. We recommend that you retain a copy of your fax confirmation sheet for your records.