Before the
                      Federal Communications Commission
                          Washington, D.C. 20554
                                   )
In the Matter of                        )
                                   )
Request for Review of the                    )
Decision of the                         ) 
Universal Service Administrator by                )
                                   )
St. Margaret's-McTernan School               )    File No. SLD - 32393
Waterbury, Connecticut                  )
                                   )
Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service    )    CC Docket No. 96-45
                                   )    
Changes to the Board of Directors            )
of the National Exchange Carrier             )    CC Docket No. 97-21
Association, Inc.                       )

                                   ORDER

     Adopted:  October 18, 1999                        Released:  October 18, 1999             
   

By the Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau:

     1.   The Common Carrier Bureau has under consideration an appeal by St. Margaret's-
McTernan School, Waterbury, Connecticut (St. Margaret's-McTernan), filed July 20, 1999,
seeking review of a decision issued by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal
Service Administrative Company (Administrator).  For the reasons set forth below, we deny St.
Margaret's-McTernan's appeal.

     2.   By letter dated January 19, 1999, the SLD denied in part St. Margaret's-
McTernan's requests for discounts pursuant to section 254 of the Communications Act.  St.
Margaret's-McTernan states that it filed an appeal of that decision with the Administrator on
March 10, 1999.  In response, the Administrator issued a decision on appeal, stating that it would
"not be able to consider [the] appeal" because the letter was not received within 30 days of the
date of the January 19, 1999 SLD decision letter as required by the Commission's rules. 
Subsequently, St. Margaret's-McTernan filed the instant request for review of the Administrator's
decision on appeal, reiterating its view that it was incorrectly denied discounts by SLD and
setting forth reasons why it believes its appeal to the Administrator should be considered timely.  
Specifically, St. Margaret's-McTernan states that:  (1) the January 19, 1999 SLD letter did not
specify a 30-day requirement for filing appeals, and (2) the appeal process was not announced on
the SLD website until March 9, 1999, which was the first time it became aware of the 30-day
requirement.  

     3.   Section 54.720 of the Commission's rules requires schools to seek review of an
SLD initial decision within 30 days of the issuance of that decision.  St. Margaret's-McTernan,
by its own admission, filed its Letter of Appeal with the Administrator no earlier than March 10,
1999.  Therefore, because St. Margaret's-McTernan filed its Letter of Appeal with the
Administrator outside the specified 30-day period, we deny its request for review here.  

     4.   In addition, to the extent that St. Margaret's-McTernan seeks a waiver of the 30-
day filing period, we deny that request.  Although the Commission may waive any provision of
its rules, a request for waiver must be supported by a showing of good cause.  That is, "[t]he
FCC may exercise its discretion to waive a rule where particular facts would make strict
compliance inconsistent with the public interest" and where "special circumstances" might
warrant a waiver.  We find that St. Margaret's-McTernan has failed to make the required
showing to justify a waiver under these circumstances.  Although the SLD website may not have
posted the appeal process rules until March, the rule at issue became effective on January 1,
1999.  Therefore, notice of the rules was provided long before St. Margaret's-McTernan was
required to file its appeal with the Administrator.  Moreover, St. Margaret's-McTernan has failed
to show why it should not be held to the same standard of notice as all parties potentially affected
by this rule.
     5.   ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to authority delegated under
sections 0.91, 0.291, and 54.722(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.91, 0.291, and
54.722(a), that the appeal filed July 20, 1999 by St. Margaret's-McTernan School IS DENIED.

                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                         Yog R. Varma
                         Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau