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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released an Order (FCC 01-376) which amends its procedural rules for filing appeals. The amended rules are "due to recent emergency events in Washington, D.C. resulting in the unforeseeable and understandable disruption of regular mail delivery and of the processing of other deliveries due to the threat of contamination." The amended rules will become effective on the date the Order is published in the Federal Register (the "effective date") and will remain in effect until further notice.

For Appeals Filed Directly with the FCC:

The period for filing an appeal directly with the FCC has been extended from the current 30-day period to 60 days. This means the FCC must receive an appeal within 60 days of the date on your decision letter from the SLD. This new deadline applies to appeals that were required to be received on or after September 12, 2001. (Since the FCC offices were closed on September 11, 2001, documents that would otherwise have been due on that date were not due until September 12, 2001). The option to file appeals electronically, either by electronic mail or facsimile (see #2 below), is also being made available. Appeals that were due on or after September 12, and that were submitted by non-electronic means between September 12, 2001 and the effective date of the Order may be refiled electronically within 30 days of the effective date of the Order (see # 3 below). Appeals that were required to be received on or before September 10, 2001 under the 30-day filing period requirements will still be subject to the 30-day filing period.

1. Appeals may continue to be submitted in the following ways:

• For appeals 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 appeals 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 appeals, 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)

See the Appeals Procedure in the Reference Area of the SLD web site for further information on hand-delivered or messenger-delivered appeals.

2. Appeals may be filed electronically, either by electronic mail (e-mail) or by facsimile. Appeals submitted by electronic mail will be considered filed on a business day if they are received at the Commission at any time up to 12:00 a.m. (midnight) ET. Appeals received after that time will be considered received on the next business day. Similarly, facsimile transmissions will be considered filed on a business day if the complete transmission is received by any time up to 12:00 a.m. (midnight) ET.

• Appeals filed by e-mail must be submitted to CCBSecretary@fcc.gov. Documents filed by e-mail can be submitted in any widely used word processing format, such as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), Word or WordPerfect. The FCC will automatically reply to incoming e-mails to confirm receipt.
  
  
• Appeals filed by facsimile 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.

3. Appeals that were due on or after September 12, 2001 and that were submitted by non-electronic means between September 12, 2001 and the effective date of this Order may be refiled electronically within 30 days of the effective date of this Order using the procedures described above. Such appeals must be accompanied by a signed affidavit or a declaration stating that the previously filed appeal was timely filed, and providing the date that the appeal was originally mailed to the FCC and by what means. For this purpose only, the original appeal will be considered filed as of the date that it was mailed. Note that this refiling option can only occur within the 30 days of the effective date of the Order.

For Appeals Filed Directly with the SLD:

The period for filing an appeal directly with the SLD has been extended from the current 30-day period to 60 days. This means the SLD must receive an appeal within 60 days of the date on your decision letter from the SLD. This new deadline applies to appeals that were required to be filed on or after September 12, 2001. (Since the SLD offices were closed on September 11, 2001, documents that would otherwise have been due on that date were not due until September 12, 2001). The option to file appeals electronically, either by electronic mail or facsimile (see #2 below), is also being made available. Appeals that were due on or after September 12, and that were submitted by non-electronic means between September 12, 2001 and the effective date of the Order may be refiled electronically within 30 days of the effective date of the Order (See # 3 below). Appeals that were required to be received on or before September 10, 2001 under the 30-day filing period requirements will still be subject to the 30-day filing period.

1. Appeals may continue to be sent to the following address by United States Postal Service mail or express delivery services:

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

2. Appeals may be filed electronically, either by electronic mail (e-mail) or by facsimile. Appeals submitted by electronic mail will be considered filed on a business day if they are received at the SLD at any time up to 12:00 a.m. (midnight) ET. Appeals received after that time will be considered received on the next business day. Similarly, facsimile transmissions will be considered filed on a business day if the complete transmission is received by any time up to 12:00 a.m. (midnight) ET.

• Appeals filed by e-mail must be submitted to Appeals@sl.universalservice.org. Documents filed by e-mail can be submitted 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. This email address can only be used for appeals.
  
  
• Appeals filed by facsimile must be faxed to 973-599-6542. The fax transmission should include a cover sheet listing contact name, phone number, and - if available - an e-mail address.

3. Appeals that were due on or after September 12, 2001 and that were submitted by non-electronic means between September 12, 2001 and the effective date of this Order may be refiled electronically within 30 days of the effective date of this Order using the procedures described above. Such appeals must be accompanied by a signed affidavit or a declaration stating that the previously filed appeal was timely filed, and providing the date that the appeal was originally mailed to the SLD and by what means. For this purpose only, the original appeal will be considered filed as of the date that it was mailed. Note that this refiling option can only occur within 30 days of the effective date of the Order.

Filing Appeals with the SLD or the FCC:

While you may write directly to the FCC without first presenting your appeal to the SLD, you are encouraged to write 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, you may then file an appeal with the FCC. The FCC must receive that appeal within 60 days of the date of the SLD decision letter. A person receiving an adverse decision from the Commission has up to 30 days to file a petition for reconsideration. Petitions for reconsideration are excluded from the 60-day filing deadline since they must, by statute, be filed within 30 days.

The SLD will post a separate notice on this web site when this Order is published in the Federal Register and the effective date is established.

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