Understanding the PLAFFP: A Guide to Present Levels in Special Education

The Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance statement (PLAAFP), often called the "present levels," stands as a cornerstone of a child's Individualized Education Program (IEP). This article delves into the purpose, components, and significance of the PLAAFP, providing a comprehensive understanding for parents, educators, and anyone involved in special education.

What is the PLAAFP?

The PLAAFP statement summarizes the student’s current levels of functioning. It is one of the fundamental components of an IEP. Historically, IEPs contained information about a student’s present levels of performance (PLOP), also referred to as present levels of educational performance (PLEP) in some schools or districts. When Congress reauthorized IDEA in 2004, this was changed to the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP). The new term highlights the need for special education to address all of a student’s needs.

Purpose and Importance

The core purpose of the PLAAFP is to pinpoint the specific types and amount of support and services a child requires to thrive in their educational journey. It serves as the bedrock upon which the ARD (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) committee crafts tailored goals for the child's educational year. The PLAAFP also identifies how a child’s disability affects their involvement in the general education curriculum.

Key Functions of the PLAAFP:

Identifying Needs: The PLAAFP pinpoints a student's strengths and weaknesses, both academically and functionally.
Guiding IEP Development: It serves as the foundation for developing measurable annual goals within the IEP.
Determining Services: The PLAAFP dictates the specific services and supports a child needs to address their unique requirements.
Tracking Progress: It provides a baseline against which to measure a student's progress throughout the year.

Components of a Comprehensive PLAAFP

A high-quality PLAAFP statement encompasses several key elements, painting a detailed picture of the student's current abilities and needs. The IEP team can begin the process of developing a high-quality PLAAFP statement by holding a discussion that centers around the four elements outlined above: student needs, effect on progress in general education, baseline information, and connection to goals and/or services. By doing so, they will begin to assemble the elements that will become the student’s PLAAFP statement.

Academic Achievement: This section details the student's performance in academic areas such as reading, writing, and math. It includes information about their strengths, weaknesses, and current skill levels.
Functional Performance: This area addresses skills and activities that are not strictly academic, such as social skills, communication, self-care, and motor skills.
Impact of Disability: The PLAAFP clearly explains how the student's disability affects their involvement and progress in the general education curriculum. For preschool children, the part of the statement describing how the disability affects involvement and progress in the general education curriculum is different.
Data-Driven Information: The PLAAFP should be grounded in objective data, including test results, observations, and input from teachers, parents, and other relevant professionals.

Gathering Information for the PLAAFP

The IEP team gathers information for the PLAAFP from a variety of sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of the student's needs.

Read also: Find Remote Special Education Jobs

Sources of Information:

Evaluations and Assessments: Standardized tests, classroom-based assessments, and other evaluations provide valuable data on the student's academic and functional skills. When a student’s first IEP is developed, much of the information needed for the PLAAFP is collected in the initial assessment.
Teacher Observations: Teachers provide insights into the student's classroom performance, behavior, and social interactions. Teacher observations can be an important part of the data.
Parent Input: Parents offer crucial information about their child's strengths, weaknesses, and needs outside of the school environment. The PLAAFP statement is also where parent input is documented.
Related Service Providers: Therapists, counselors, and other specialists contribute their expertise on the student's specific needs and progress. In my school when we develop the PLAAFP statements, it’s a collaboration of many different people. So if it is an O. T. skill, the O.T. is going to develop the wording, but she will send out an information thing to fill out for the gen ed teacher, for the special ed teacher, on those areas so they can see how it plays out in the classroom versus just their one-on-one setting. The case manager is really only going to develop the areas that they serve. So if a child has an IEP that has math service and it has reading service, the person who delivers the reading service is going to be the person who actually fills in that part of the IEP. But they’re going to reach out to the reading teacher as well and get information for how that plays out in the general education classroom.

Writing an Effective PLAAFP Statement

Crafting a well-written PLAAFP statement is essential for ensuring that the IEP is tailored to the student's unique needs. After the IEP team has discussed the information above, they can begin to write the PLAAFP statement. As they do so, they should keep in mind that this statement should be written in concise, specific, and clear language that can be easily understood by all members of the IEP team.

Key Considerations for Writing the PLAAFP:

Clarity and Specificity: Avoid vague or general statements. Use clear, concise language that provides specific details about the student's performance.
Objectivity: Base the PLAAFP on objective data and observations, rather than subjective opinions. It is important that the PLAAFP statements be based on objective data.
Relevance: Ensure that the information included in the PLAAFP is relevant to the student's educational needs and goals.
Parent-Friendly Language: Make sure the PLAAFP is written in parent-friendly language (i.e., no jargon, no acronyms, clear easy to understand language).
Comprehensive: Address all areas of need identified in the student's evaluation.

Example of a PLAAFP Statement

To illustrate the components of a PLAAFP, consider the following example:

"K is a 9-year-old, 4th-grade student who is eligible for special education services under the category of Specific Learning Disability. K has strong expressive and receptive language skills and a large vocabulary. As a result, he actively engages in class discussions and performs well on tasks that require auditory comprehension (e.g., following multi-step directions, answering comprehension questions about class discussions or about passages that are read to him). K’s learning disability negatively affects his decoding skills, which are at a low 2nd-grade level. In addition to school-based concerns, K’s parents worry about the effects of his learning disability outside of school. For example, K avoids games that involve even a little bit of reading, resulting in some conflicts during weekly family game nights, which often involve board games. The 4th-grade curriculum involves many independent reading activities. K’s decoding problems affect his performance in the general education setting because he cannot independently read items like written instructions, worksheets, or content area texts. He is self-conscious about his reading difficulties and works hard to hide his reading struggles from his classmates. K is currently reading 54 words correct per minute (wpm) on a 2nd-grade reading probe, which is slightly higher than the 2nd-grade fall benchmark of 50 wpm."

The PLAAFP and Goal Setting

The PLAAFP serves as the foundation for developing measurable annual goals within the IEP. There should be a direct relationship between the present levels of performance and the other components of the IEP.

How the PLAAFP Informs Goal Setting:

Identifying Areas for Improvement: The PLAAFP highlights areas where the student needs to make progress.
Setting Realistic Goals: The PLAAFP provides a baseline for setting realistic and achievable goals.
Measuring Progress: The PLAAFP allows the IEP team to measure the student's progress toward their goals.

For instance, if the PLOP says a student has difficulty with, then the IEP should have a goal that addresses the issue.

Ensuring a Compliant PLAAFP

To ensure that the PLAAFP is compliant with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it must meet certain requirements. If the IEP fails to assess the ‘child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance’ the IEP does not comply with [IDEA]. This deficiency goes to the heart of the IEP; the child’s level of academic achievement and functional performance is the foundation on which the IEP must be built.

Key Requirements for PLAAFP Compliance:

Comprehensive Assessment: The PLAAFP must address all areas of the student's disability-related needs.
Data-Driven: The PLAAFP must be based on objective data and observations.
Measurable: The PLAAFP must provide a baseline for measuring the student's progress.

Example of a Noncompliant and Compliant PLAAFP

Below, review an example of a noncompliant PLAAFP statement and a compliant PLAAFP statement. The noncompliant example utilizes acronyms to describe assessments and does not describe specific language difficulties. Members of the ARD committee and others implementing the IEP may not be able to interpret these acronyms or gain an understanding of the student’s challenges. Additionally, although the PLAAFP notes that the child’s language skills are below average, it does not specify in what area(s) she needs additional supports.

Noncompliant: Alicia’s language and conversation skills are well below age expectations based on scores on the EOWPVT- R and ROWPVT-R given as part of her evaluation.
Compliant: Alicia needs to continue developing in the area of language and communication, specifically with conversation skills. Based on information provided by Alicia’s pre-school education teacher, speech therapist, her mom, and data from the August 30, 2018, evaluation, Alicia inconsistently (less than 50% of observations) takes one turn in a conversation (e.g., responds to greetings, answers simple questions) when provided a visual prompt. She consistently (over 80% of observations) provides an appropriate response to a conversational cue when given a verbal model of “say“. She has been observed responding independently to conversation cues on only 2-3 occasions over the past year based on parent and teacher report. Her inability to respond independently hinders her academic and functional progress by decreasing her ability to interact with her teachers and peers.

The Role of the IEP Team

The IEP team plays a crucial role in developing and implementing the PLAAFP. Who is on the IEP team? Your child’s IEP team includes:

Your child
You (the parents)
At least one regular education teacher (if your child is participating in regular education)
At least one special education teacher or service provider
A representative from the school district
Other individuals who are involved in your child’s education and development (Example: employment program personnel, school transition specialists, additional family members, etc.)

Responsibilities of the IEP Team:

Gathering Information: The IEP team collects data from a variety of sources to develop a comprehensive understanding of the student's needs.
Writing the PLAAFP: The IEP team collaborates to write a clear, specific, and data-driven PLAAFP statement.
Developing Goals: The IEP team uses the PLAAFP to develop measurable annual goals for the student.
Monitoring Progress: The IEP team monitors the student's progress toward their goals and makes adjustments to the IEP as needed.

PLAAFP and Transition Planning

In Minnesota, when your child is in ninth grade, their Individualized Education Program (IEP) will change to include goals for their life after high school. This process is called transition planning and focuses on your child’s education, employment, and daily living needs. The IEP team will help plan how your child will make the transition from where they are now to where they want to be.

Transition Services:

Transition services may include activities that help your child with vocational skills, recreation and leisure, home living, and more.

Parent Involvement in the PLAAFP Process

Parents are integral members of the IEP team and play a vital role in the PLAAFP process.

How Parents Can Contribute:

Sharing Information: Parents can provide valuable insights into their child's strengths, weaknesses, and needs outside of the school environment. If you have information you think should be included, take it to the IEP meeting.
Participating in Discussions: Parents should actively participate in discussions about the PLAAFP and share their perspectives.
Reviewing the PLAAFP: Parents should carefully review the PLAAFP statement to ensure that it accurately reflects their child's needs.
Requesting Revisions: If parents disagree with any part of the PLAAFP, they should request revisions.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Using Vague Language: Avoid general statements that lack specific details.
Relying on Subjective Opinions: Base the PLAAFP on objective data and observations.
Copying from Previous IEPs: Ensure that the PLAAFP is updated annually to reflect the student's current needs. It’s important that the PLOP not be simply copied “as is” from one year’s IEP to the next. (If you notice that the PLOP is the same, you may want to raise this point with the IEP team so that it is updated.) As kids mature and master skills, or as their work becomes more challenging, their performance and needs will change.

tags: #PLAFFP #special #education #definition