The Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) must tell the current story of the student. Some may say that it should pass the “Stranger Test,” meaning if a third party who did not know the student were to read the PLAAFP in that student’s IEP, would that third party understand all about where that student is currently performing both academically and functionally? If not, then the PLAAFP is not adequate. These are some important items to include in a well-written PLAAFP, however it is NOT an all inclusive list.
1. Includes strengths regarding academic, behavioral, social, communication, fine motor, gross motor, life skills, etc. as appropriate to the student. As kind as it is, strengths are not that a child is pretty or has a charming smile—those are subjective statements and opinions of the writer, not strengths of the student.
2. Includes statement of HOW disability affects involvement/progress in general education, not just a statement of what the disability is. This should be clearly written. If a general education teacher understands how the student’s disability would affect his/her classroom involvement from this statement, then it is appropriately written.
3. Section related to current functioning needs to be very clear. This is not a section to talk about a student’s weaknesses, but rather a prescription of their needs. This section must include functioning regarding academic, behavioral, social, communication, fine motor, gross motor, life skills, mobility, etc. as appropriate to the student. This section must also include the most recent State Standard’s Based Assessment (SBA) scores (several years may be appropriate to include if there is a need to compare years). This section may include relevant current educational evaluation information from the most recent 3-year reevaluation.
4. Agency comments are required whenever an outside agency is involved in the student’s program or has relevant information to their educational experience.
5. Parent/ Student comments need to be documented clearly and updated each year. A statement that the parent did not attend the meeting is not acceptable for this section. The case manager is still responsible to speak to the parents about their concerns, needs and to obtain any other information relevant to the IEP.
The PLAAFP is not about quantity or length, it is about quality and clarity.