PLAAFP

What Is Required

A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. How the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general education curriculum; or for preschool, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child's participation in appropriate activities.

What we do:

PLAAFP statements are developed to present a clear picture of the student’s abilities. A student's PLAAFP statement leads to the development of Goals and objectives. In addition, the PLAAFP statement helps the ARD Committee to determine the most appropriate accommodations, modifications (if appropriate), and supplemental aids to provide the student with access to the general curriculum.

The following items must be considered and included in a child’s PLAAFP statement:

The Strengths of the Child

Concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child

Results of the initial or most recent evaluation of the child

Current academic, developmental and functional needs of the child (strengths in all areas and weaknesses in areas identified).

All PLAAFP statements should be written using this model:

Eligibility/FIE/Cognitive – PLAAFP and FIE should be consistent with the same disability condition. List how disability impacts access and progress in the gen ed curriculum (data sources: Teachers, parents, current/past evaluations, Diagnostician/LSSP, outside reports, etc.). Note: it is important that the information gathered here reflects current data and is not solely copied from the FIE.

Language/Communication – Summarize last year’s IEP progress (as appropriate) and how it was noted (informal, criterion-referenced, curriculum-based, and/or norm referenced). Consult with various staff/service providers for data: teachers, Speech Pathologist, parents, current/past evaluations (FIE Part II), outside reports, assistive technology information, etc.

Emotional/Behavioral/Social – Summarize last year’s IEP progress (as appropriate) and how it was noted (informal, criterion-referenced, curriculum-based, and/or norm referenced). Consult with various staff/service providers for data: teachers, counselor, school administration, LSSP, behavior specialist, parent, medical reports, current/past evaluations.

Physical/Orthopedic/Motor/Sensory – Teachers, nurse, PT, OT, O&M, PE, APE, parents outside reports, other service providers, current/past evaluations.

Academic/Functional/Vocational – Summarize last year’s IEP progress (if appropriate) and how it was noted (informal, criterion-referenced, curriculum-based, and/or norm referenced). Report scores obtained on benchmark tests, grades, etc as compared to same aged peers. Data sources: teachers, conduct, class work, tutoring, homework, tests, benchmarks, grades, state and district assessments, RTI Data, etc. Vocational-work habits, school attendance, attention to task, completion of tasks, punctuality, parents, current/past evals, work history, organizational skills, dependent/independent work style, and student preferences.

Needs of a critical nature – Include measurable/observable baseline data to identify student needs. This must be identified in order to track progress. Any “critical needs” identified should have an accompanying Goal or Objective. Listing the tool of measurement assists in the development of annual goals. Be careful not to list ALL of the child’s weaknesses as “critical” as it may not be possible to address or master all weaknesses within an IEP school year. The identified weaknesses that will be addressed for the upcoming school year. The student’s IEP should correspond to the areas of critical need.

Type of Accommodations/Modifications – Report the student’s performance with an accommodation and/or modification. What is the student’s performance without them, does student performance improve with them?