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DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT: FY27 Statement of Assurances, required for all Public Education Agencies, opens April 1, 2026

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT: FY27 Statement of Assurances, required for all Public Education Agencies, opens April 1, 2026

Fri, Mar 6, 2026
Updates
Data Management
Special Education

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT

FY27 Statement of Assurances, required for all Public Education Agencies, opens April 1, 2026

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Exceptional Student Services (ESS), Arizona’s representative body for special education, is required to annually obtain assurances from Public Education Agencies (PEAs). These assurances confirm that each PEA is meeting all requirements established under state and federal statutes. This obligation is fulfilled through the annual Statement of Assurances (SOA) application.

Completion of the Statement of Assurances is required for all entities defined as PEAs, regardless of whether they receive federal funds. Non-Public Organizations (NPOs) are exempt from this requirement.

All PEAs must submit the FY27 Statement of Assurances (SOA) through the ESS Portal, accessible via ADEConnect.

The application will open on April 1, 2026, and will close on June 10, 2026.

The SOA must be submitted by the PEA’s Superintendent, Charter Holder, or Special Education Director before FY27 IDEA funding applications can be approved in the Grants Management Enterprise system.

Additional requirements:

  • The PEA’s Entity Administrator must assign the ESS Special Education: Signer role in ADEConnect to the individual responsible for reviewing, signing, and submitting the SOA.
  • PEAs that do not apply for IDEA funds are still required to submit the SOA.

Once the appropriate role has been assigned, please log in to ADEConnect, navigate to the Exceptional Student Services Portal, and select the Statement of Assurances link under Surveys & Assurances.

 

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The survey code will auto-populate for your PEA. On each page, select the “Yes” checkbox to indicate your assurances for the corresponding requirements.

After completing the survey, the SOA may be printed for your records. To verify submission, you may re-access the SOA; a “Thank you for submitting” page will display if your submission is complete.

Please direct any questions to the ESS Data Management inbox. 

   

Recent Articles

New/Expanding Charter Schools

34 CFR Part 76, Subpart H, describes how charters can receive IDEA Entitlement funds. The ADE (Arizona Department of Education) requires that a charter notify ESS (Exceptional Student Services) in order to obtain an allocation or an expansion to an allocation in the same year that the respective event occurs. Any entities participating in this process will be worked into the IDEA Basic grant application. (The Charter School Expansion Act Grant is no longer used.)

Proportionate Share

Proportionare Share 

For questions, please email ESS Program Management.
More information can be found on the proportionate share FAQ page.
The memo issued by ESS Operations regarding the use of carryover funds for a proportionate share
The Office of Special Education Programs has published a guidance document Q&A on Serving Children with Disabilities Placed by Their Parents in Private Schools (February 2022).

Maintenence of Effort (MOE)

MOE

The purpose of Maintenance of Effort Eligibility testing is to ensure that public education agencies (PEAs) are not supplanting state and local funds with IDEA federal funding sources in accordance with 34 C.F.R. §300.203(a). Therefore, any PEA that has received federal funds for IDEA must complete Maintenance of Effort (MOE) testing.

Substantial Approval

Substantial Approval

IDEA funding applications are submitted through the Grants Management Enterprise (GME) system. While funding applications are available on March 1st and due May 1st every year, the ESS Program Management team is unable to provide substantial approval until the PEA meets the following requirements.

The funding application is complete.

Allowable Cost

Allowable cost

For a particular cost to be allowed, it must be an excess cost of providing special education and related services. Only allowed costs may be charged to the flow-through or preschool entitlement grants.

Allocations

IDEA Entitlement Grant

The IDEA formula grants are used to assist Arizona in meeting the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. In order to be eligible for funding, PEAs must serve all children with disabilities between the ages of 3 through 21 and be non-profit.

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