PAP vs PPS in France: Which School Accommodation Plan Does Your Child Need?

France has four different school support plans, and choosing the right one matters enormously. The difference between a PAP and a PPS isn't just bureaucratic — it determines whether your child can legally receive a classroom aide, whether you need to go through the MDPH, and how fast the support can be put in place.

Many expat families waste months either fighting for a PPS when a PAP would have been sufficient, or accepting a PAP when their child genuinely needed a PPS and an AESH. This guide explains what each plan does, who it's for, and when to use it.

The Four Plans: An Overview

PPRE: The Academic Catch-Up Plan

The Programme Personnalisé de Réussite Éducative is the lightest-touch option. It is initiated by the school director for a student who is struggling to master core competencies — reading, maths, basic language skills.

The PPRE is explicitly for temporary, short-term academic difficulties. It is not a disability support plan. It doesn't require a medical diagnosis, MDPH involvement, or specialist input. The school defines a set of targeted pedagogical actions, implements them for a defined period, then reviews whether the difficulty has been resolved.

For expat children experiencing difficulty because of French language acquisition — very common in the first one to two years — a PPRE is often the school's first response. It is appropriate for this context. It is not appropriate for a child with a genuine neurodevelopmental disorder who needs ongoing, formalized accommodations.

PAI: For Chronic Health Conditions

The Projet d'Accueil Individualisé is a health management plan, not an academic support plan. It is designed for students with chronic conditions that require specific protocols at school: severe allergies (including anaphylaxis), asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, celiac disease.

The PAI defines:

• Emergency protocols (what to do during an allergic reaction or seizure)
• Medication storage and administration procedures
• Dietary requirements for the cafeteria
• Any physical limitations on activities

The PAI is drawn up jointly by the family, the school director, and the school doctor. It does not require MDPH involvement and does not provide any academic accommodations or human support. If your child has both a health condition and a learning disability, they may need both a PAI (for health management) and either a PAP or PPS (for learning support).

PAP: For Dyslexia, ADHD, and Troubles DYS

The Plan d'Accompagnement Personnalisé was created specifically for students with learning difficulties falling under the umbrella of "Troubles DYS" — dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysphasia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and related neurodevelopmental conditions.

The PAP is one of the most useful plans in the French system for the expat population, because it bypasses the MDPH entirely. There is no 6-to-18-month wait. The school doctor validates the need (based on specialist reports you provide), and the teaching staff implements the agreed accommodations.

What a PAP can provide:

• Adapted font size on documents
• Printed copies of board work and lessons
• Extended time on assessments (usually 30 minutes per hour)
• Use of a calculator in maths
• Oral rather than written responses
• Seated positioning accommodations

What a PAP cannot provide: an AESH classroom aide, a ULIS class placement, or any state-funded specialist equipment. These require the PPS/MDPH route.

For a child with dyslexia who primarily needs reading and writing accommodations, a PAP is genuinely the right tool — faster to obtain and sufficient for the need. For a child with severe ADHD who needs continuous behavioral support, a PAP addresses only the academic side. If 1-on-1 support is needed, the MDPH pathway is necessary regardless of the PAP's utility.

PAP for Dyslexia: A Common Expat Scenario

Expat children are disproportionately screened for dyslexia in France, partly because difficulty with French orthography is genuinely more pronounced in non-native speakers, and partly because the boundaries between language acquisition challenges and genuine dyslexia can be blurry in bilingual children.

A key diagnostic principle: a genuine learning disorder will present in both the child's languages, not just in French. If a child who was reading fluently in English is struggling with written French, that may be a language acquisition issue (possibly addressable with FLE support) rather than dyslexia. A proper bilingual assessment by a specialist who evaluates performance in both languages is necessary for an accurate diagnosis.

If dyslexia is confirmed, the PAP is the right first step. The school doctor can validate the need relatively quickly — typically within weeks rather than months.

PPS: For MDPH-Recognized Disabilities

The Projet Personnalisé de Scolarisation is the most powerful plan in the system, but also the most demanding to obtain. It requires formal disability recognition through the MDPH, a CDAPH decision, and typically a wait of many months.

The PPS is the right choice when:

• The child needs a dedicated classroom aide (AESH-individuel)
• The child needs placement in a ULIS specialized inclusion class
• The child needs referral to an IME, ITEP, or SESSAD
• The pedagogical accommodations required go beyond what the PAP can deliver
• The disability substantially limits multiple areas of school and daily functioning

The PPS is mandatory for accessing state-funded AESH support. No other plan can legally mandate an AESH assignment.

When the School Pushes You Toward a PAP Instead of a PPS

This is a documented pattern. Schools sometimes steer families toward a PAP because it requires no MDPH involvement and keeps the support arrangement entirely within the school's existing capacity. For the school, it is administratively simpler.

For families whose child genuinely needs an AESH, a ULIS placement, or intensive support, accepting a PAP is a costly error. A PAP with good pedagogical accommodations is not a substitute for human support in the classroom if the child cannot access learning without continuous assistance.

If the school proposes a PAP and you believe a PPS with AESH support is needed, you are entitled to pursue the MDPH application regardless of the school's preference. The two processes are not mutually exclusive — you can have a PAP in place immediately as a bridging measure while the MDPH processes the full dossier. Many families do exactly this.

The France Special Education Blueprint includes a decision flowchart mapping each plan to specific need profiles, along with guidance on how to request each plan and what to do when the school disagrees with your assessment of what your child needs.

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