Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEPs)
or Present Level(s) of Academic and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)
NOTE: For ease of reading PLEP is used throughout this document, but please understand that PLAAFP is just the updated version and can be substituted without reservation.
PLEPs are to provide the information necessary to understand where this student came from and where the student is currently performing. The PLEPs connect one IEP to the next, so that a clear educational path is evident.
Want to check the clarity of your IEP paths?
Lay three years of IEPs from the same student side by side. The IEPs do not have to be all your paperwork. This longitudinal review really shows if educational programming flows from one school building to another, from one case manager to another. Read the PLEP for goal 1. Note any data points. Now review the PLEP from the next year’s IEP.
What did you discover?
A) You couldn’t find the same goal topic. The student went from a reading goal to math goal, but nothing is written about why or how that happened. That’s not so good.
B) The PLEP is identical in both IEPs. That’s really not so good!! Remember your job is to document benefit of special education services. These IEPs show no growth. This error is a major compliance issue and could result in due process complaint or hearing.
C) PLEP in IEP #2 flowed nicely from PLEP in IEP #1. Yay!! Good job!!
So what do you need for a good PLEP/PLAAFP?
Legally you have – requirements:
- Current student performance status—current hard data, NUMBERS
- Impact of the disability on the student’s participation and progress in general curriculum
and although not required but recommended—Parent Input. I’ve sat on both sides of the table and the parent side is very overwhelming. Typically this is what I “heard” from the parent side:
“This is a draft IEP. We can change it if we need to. So page 1….here’s page 2. Now page 3. Oh isn’t this fun. Page 4. Please sign. Thanks for coming.”
Not exactly a participatory role in the process. By including parent concerns and the team discussions on how to address the concerns, you are documenting that you truly heard the parent and were willing to work together.
In addition, during the IEP meeting for a student with a reading disability, the parents bring up that the student doesn’t know his multiplication facts. The classroom teacher is there as part of the team (right?). So turn to the classroom teacher and say “What do you do for other kids that don’t know their multiplication facts?” The team discusses those options and parents can pick what they think will work best.
Document the discussion in the PLEP, but do NOT write a goal for multiplication facts as that is not an area of evaluated educational need.
Now I train staff to begin the PLEP with a statement regarding the findings of the evaluation. This statement clearly defines special education responsibilities and general education responsibilities.
Then you’ll write about the status of each of the goals. You can do this as one mega-PLEP or divide it out into PLEP 1 for goal 1, PLEP 2 for goal 2, etc.
You can add information about other concerns or general information that will help the next teacher understand this student and his/her performance and progress. You can add parent information, team discussions and even secondary transition information. The PLEP really is the catch-all of the IEP.
You conclude the PLEP with a statement regarding the impact of the disability in general education. A student can have a disability, but if there is no impact in the classroom—WHY would the student need special education. So this statement says “this is proof (i.e., numbers) that show this student NEEDS special education.” Performance on tests, social interactions and classroom assignment results compared to peers is typically used. If the student is secondary transition-age, you would also talk about impact of the disability in the transition areas.