Teacher Being Asked To Sign A Ferpa Statement After Being Fired — Is This Normal?

Location: California

I used to work at a public charter school in California and was recently terminated under likely retaliatory circumstances. Now, after being let go, the school is asking me to sign a FERPA attestation statement. I’m not sure if I should sign it or what the legal implications might be.

The statement reads:

“I affirm that I have destroyed all documents and copies of documents containing confidential information belonging to the School including but not limited to all documents containing student and parent information. I further affirm that I have deleted and destroyed all digital and electronic copies of such information.”

Before I was terminated, I sent a behavior referral to my personal email. I did this because I was preparing a good-faith report about some serious issues involving a student — including sexual aggression that other teachers had also raised concerns about. I’m a mandated reporter, and I used that information to file a CPS report and document what I believed were Title IX and 504 violations. I did not share the student’s information with anyone — I just needed to keep records in case the school didn’t act, which they didn’t.

Now they’re suggesting I may have violated FERPA by emailing the referral to myself. But this was while I was still an employee, and I was using the info for mandated reporting and whistleblowing purposes. I haven’t worked there in weeks, so I’m confused why they’re asking me to sign anything now.

Questions:

1. Am I legally required to sign anything related to FERPA after being fired?

2. Could signing something now be used against me or count as admitting wrongdoing?

3. Should I refuse to sign, or sign it with a note or clarification?

Would appreciate any advice — especially from anyone who knows about FERPA, whistleblower stuff, or teacher protections in CA.