Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 24, 2024 / Notices 77899 

concluded in 2007), as well as current 

experiences, at ten select site locations. 

The ten sites were selected by the NSF 

in collaboration with our research 

partner who will conduct all data 

collection, NORC at the University of 

Chicago. A key component of the site 

selection process has been to assure 

variability in site representation, to 

include sites with more remote 

geographies, differing populations, and 

alliance types. 

This work will enable the program to 

better understand where successes can 

be modeled and opportunities can be 

identified to better support the 

underrepresented students in these 

fields, by encouraging greater inclusion 

in academic and professional 

development opportunities. Currently, 

we are seeking approval to conduct 

interviews and focus groups with 

individuals who are affiliated with the 

LSAMP alliances at these pre-identified 

sites using the procedures discussed 

below. 

As of FY2021, there were 61 LSAMP 

alliances, 55 of which were led by fouryear institutions. There are three groups 

of LSAMP alliances: 11 STEM Pathways 

Implementation Only (SPIO) alliances 

in existence less than 10 years, 22 STEM 

Pathways Research Alliances (SPRA) in 

existence at least 10 years, and 22 

alliances that had not yet applied for 

funding under the 2018 solicitation. Ten 

of the alliances in existence at least 10 

years also have Bridge to the Doctorate 

(BD) projects that provide additional 

funding to support students’ graduate 

work. An additional 6 alliances are 

Bridge to the Baccalaureate (B2B) 

alliances led by two-year institutions. 

Each alliance consists of a lead 

institution and several other affiliated 

institutions all operating towards the 

same alliance goals. Affiliated 

institutions typically are in the same 

geographic region and may vary by type 

(e.g., two-year institutions). 

Participating underrepresented minority 

(URM) STEM students in alliance 

schools could be defined in three 

groups: Level 1 students who receive 

direct financial support through the 

alliance for activities, Level 2 students 

who attended activities sponsored by 

LSAMP funds, and Level 3 students 

who are students at LSAMP institutions 

who did not receive funds or participate 

in LSAMP activities. 

Research suggests that collaboratives, 

such as the alliances funded by the 

LSAMP program can improve STEM 

degree completion rates, but long-term 

success requires sustained change at the 

institutional level (Center for Urban 

Education, 2019; May & Bridger, 2010). 

LSAMP has a 30-year history of 

increasing the diversity of science, 

technology, engineering, and 

mathematics (STEM) disciplines and the 

STEM workforce. 

NORC at the University of Chicago’s 

(NORC) is leading the present approach 

for evaluating the operations, success, 

and opportunities of LSAMP, under the 

guidance and sponsorship of the NSF 

Directorate for Education and Human 

Resources (EHR) Division of Human 

Resource Development (HRD). This 

evaluation aims to identify and 

characterize the organizational structure 

and institutionalization of LSAMP 

alliances and assess the impact of 

LSAMP strategies to strengthen 

pathways and increase undergraduate 

and graduate STEM degrees earned by 

students from populations 

underrepresented in STEM on all 

educational levels. 

As part of this comprehensive 

evaluation, and with a focus on fully 

utilizing all preexisting data, NORC has 

completed a thorough review of 

available data (e.g., annual reports). The 

LSAMP program anticipates using the 

results of this evaluation (both the 

review of existing data and data from 

site visits) to identify ‘‘LSAMP best 

practices’’ that can be implemented by 

both LSAMP grantee/alliance 

institutions and non-LSAMP grantees/ 

alliance institutions to sustain and grow 

impacts of the LSAMP programming on 

diversity in STEM and inform the 

LSAMP program on sustainability 

mechanisms and goals appropriate for 

LSAMP alliance institutions to maintain 

their successful outcomes. 

Respondents: LSAMP Faculty and 

Staff (200); LSAMP Students (120). 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 320. 

Burden on the Public: Estimated 1–3 

hours to participate in an interview or 

focus group (1 hour for staff and 

students, 3 hours for coordinators/ 

provosts or other leaders). The 

estimated burden time is 750 hours. 

Dated: September 19, 2024. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21845 Filed 9–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

Submission for Review: Revision and 

Consolidation of Two Existing 

Information Collections Related to 

Health Benefits Election Forms 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) offers the general 

public and other Federal agencies the 

opportunity to comment on a revised 

information collection request (ICR) for 

two forms: SF 2809 Health Benefits 

Election Form and OPM 2809 Health 

Benefits Election Form. 

DATES: Comments are encouraged and 

will be accepted until October 24, 2024. 

This process is conducted in accordance 

with 5 CFR 1320.1. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection request 

by selecting ‘‘Office of Personnel 

Management’’ under ‘‘Currently Under 

Review,’’ then check ‘‘Only Show ICR 

for Public Comment’’ checkbox. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to these 

information collection activities, please 

contact: Retirement Services 

Publications Team, Office of Personnel 

Management, 1900 E Street NW, Room 

3316–L, Washington, DC 20415, 

Attention: Cyrus S. Benson, or sent via 

electronic mail to 

RSPublicationsTeam@opm.gov or faxed 

to (202) 606–0910 or via telephone at 

(202) 936–0401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Personnel Management, in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the public with 

an opportunity to comment on 

proposed, revised, and continuing 

collections of information. This helps 

OPM assess the impact of its 

information collection requirements and 

minimize the public’s reporting burden. 

It also helps the public understand 

OPM’s information collection 

requirements and provide the requested 

data in the desired format. On May 5, 

2024, OPM published notice of its intent 

to combine OMB Control Nos. 3206– 

0160 and 3206–0141 into a single, 

updated collection in the Federal 

Register at 89 FR 37269. 

The SF 2809 and the OPM 2809 forms 

are generally very similar in terms of the 

information collected, with only a few 

different data points to reflect 

differences between an employee and an 

annuitant. Nonetheless, the forms were 

historically managed under two 

different information collections. OPM 

is not currently planning to consolidate 

the forms into a single form because the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
77900 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 24, 2024 / Notices 

instructions for annuitants are different 

than the instructions for an employee. 

OPM expects that retaining separate 

forms helps annuitants better 

understand what information is 

required. 

OPM anticipates that both forms will 

generally require revisions at the same 

time and that comments relevant to one 

form will generally apply equally to the 

other form. Therefore, because the forms 

serve the same purpose (for two 

different populations) and collect 

virtually identical information, OPM is 

proposing to combine the two 

information collections and to manage 

the two forms under a single 

information collection, OMB Control 

No. 3206–0160, going forward. 

As part of this process, the forms have 

been updated to improve clarity and 

ease of use. OPM consulted with 

Agency Benefit Officers, Federal benefit 

electronic enrollment systems, FEHB 

insurance carriers and conducted 

several employee focus groups to 

determine proposed changes. Some 

changes to instructions for the SF 2809 

form have not been made to the OPM 

2809 form to accommodate a larger use 

of paper forms by the annuitant 

population. 

OPM received fourteen comments in 

response to its 60-day notice, including 

six unique comments and one comment 

representing eight submissions. We 

have made additional edits to the SF 

2809 form based on these comments. 

Specifically, the form will now allow a 

respondent to list addresses for minor 

children who live at a different location 

than the enrollee; the form will provide 

an option to remove a family member; 

and the form will also include a date 

field for the Initial Opportunity to 

Enroll. The SF 2809 form also makes a 

technical correction by noting that a 

common law spouse is eligible only if 

the marriage was initiated in a ‘‘state, 

the District of Columbia, or other 

jurisdiction’’ (instead of just ‘‘state’’) 

that recognizes such marriages; this 

technical correction is necessary to 

account for common law marriages in 

the District of Columbia. 

We declined several comments. 

Specifically, we declined comments 

about formatting of the paper form 

because most enrollees will use 

electronic systems to enroll. There were 

comments about the electronic Official 

Personnel Folder (eOPF) that were 

beyond the scope of this information 

collection request. 

One commenter questioned the use of 

drop-down menus in some areas of the 

application. Drop-down menus are not 

functional for manually printed forms. 

We are declining to remove these 

because they are intended for use when 

completing an electronic fillable, 

printable form, and are only used for 

short, direct answers. Drop-down 

choices are listed in the instructions of 

the form so employees using a printed 

version will have them available. 

There were also comments related to 

adding a checkbox or fillable section for 

family member eligibility documents 

and a reminder that, without required 

documents, family members are not 

enrolled. We are declining these 

suggestions because we wish to limit 

freeform text and believe this 

information is available in many other 

places related to enrollment including 

the form instructions, FEHB Handbook, 

and OPM brochures. 

A commenter noted that the 

requirement to enter Event Codes 1A 

and 1B have been removed, noting that 

processing may need these codes which 

represent Initial Opportunity to Enroll 

and Open Season. We are declining to 

implement this suggestion because these 

codes relating to the Initial Opportunity 

to Enroll (1A) and Open Season (1B) are 

among the most popular codes and we 

want to make it relatively easy for users 

to check the box rather than find an 

event code. Moreover, agencies should 

have these event codes programmed in 

their automated enrollment systems. 

Finally, as part of the establishment of 

the new Postal Service Health Benefits 

(PSHB) Program, a separate Program 

with the FEHB Program, OPM will be 

offering the use of a new online 

enrollment system. The information 

collected using the system will be 

identical to the paper and electronic 

PDF versions of the SF 2809 and OPM 

2809 forms; however, users will be able 

to enter the information using a series 

of prompts that provide additional 

instructions and guidance. 

The information collection for form 

SF 2809 (OMB Control number 3206– 

0160) is currently approved with an 

estimated public burden of 9,000 hours 

for 18,000 responses. The information 

collection for form OPM 2809 (OMB 

Control number 3206–0141) is currently 

approved with an estimated public 

burden of 11,667 hours for 30,000 

responses. As OPM is proposing to 

combine these information collections, 

the collective estimated public burden 

for both forms for the revised 

information collection is 20,667 hours 

for 48,000 responses. 

The purpose of this notice is to notify 

the public that OPM is submitting the 

information collection to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and to allow an additional 30 

days for public comments. OPM is 

soliciting comments on the proposed 

information collection request (ICR) that 

is described below. OMB is especially 

interested in public comment 

addressing the following issues: (1) 

whether this collection is necessary to 

the proper functions of OPM; (2) 

whether this information will be 

processed and used in a timely manner; 

(3) the accuracy of the burden estimates; 

(4) ways in which OPM might enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (5) 

ways in which OPM might minimize the 

burden of this collection on the 

respondents, including through the use 

of information technology. Written 

comments received in response to this 

notice will be considered public 

records. 

Analysis 

Agency: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

Title: Health Benefits Election Forms. 

OMB Number: 3206–0160. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Affected Public: Eligible individuals 

who wish to enroll in FEHB (including 

the new, separate Postal Service Health 

Benefits Program) for the first time or to 

change an existing enrollment. 

Number of Respondents: 48,000 [SF 

2809—18,000; OPM 2809—30,000 

(20,000—written & 10,000 verbal)]. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: SF 

2809 [30 minutes]; OPM 2809 [30 

minutes (written) & 10 minutes 

(verbal)]. 

Total Burden Hours: 20,667 [SF 

2809—9,000; OPM 2809—11,667 

(written—10,000 & verbal—1,667)]. 

Office of Personnel Management. 

Alexys Stanley, 

Federal Register Liaison. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21803 Filed 9–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–38–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records 

AGENCY: Postal Service®. 

ACTION: Notice of modified systems of 

records. 

SUMMARY: The United States Postal 

Service® (USPS or Postal Service) is 

proposing to modify one General 

Privacy Act System of Records (SOR) to 

support the implementation of the 

Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) 

program as required by the Postal 

Service Reform Act of 2022 and the 

USPS Flexible Spending Account (FSA) 

Program. The PSHB program is a new, 

separate program within the Federal 

Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1