On December 16, the FCC granted 83 appeal decisions regarding the correction of clerical errors on the Forms 470 and 471, and the timeliness of filing the Form 486. Following current precedent, the FCC showed flexibility with their own rules and regulations. Below is a summary of the appeal decisions.
In the Ann Arbor Public Schools decision, the FCC granted 38 appeals from applicants seeking to correct ministerial or clerical errors on the Forms 470 and/or 471.
Five appellants were granted favorable decisions because the appeals involved errors by USAC or an appeal of USAC error was filed within 60 days of the appellant receiving notice. The FCC also found good cause to allow appellants to correct ministerial or clerical errors on the Forms 470 and 471 as well as other submissions to USAC. This decision is consistent with the Archer Public Library Order.
In the Academy St. Benedict decision, the Commission granted 45 appeals from applicants that failed to timely submit the Form 486. Consistent with Alaska Gateway Order, the FCC found that complete rejection of the applications was not warranted since the applicants missed procedural deadlines and did not commit program violations.
Of the 45 favorable decisions, 14 petitioners were granted waivers of the filing deadline as the Commission found that the applicants submitted their appeals within a reasonable timeframe after receiving notice of USAC’s adverse decision, or because of circumstances beyond the applicants’ control.
Any aggrieved party, whether an applicant or service provider, can file an appeal with either the SLD or the FCC. FFL has created a searchable database of FCC appeal decisions for our E-rate Manager subscribers to make it easier for stakeholders to cite past precedents when appealing to the regulators.
