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

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.

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.