The embattled former Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury is getting a fresh start in a new state. Choudhury resigned as state superintendent in October following a series of FOX45 News investigations that raised serious questions over transparency and potential violations of state law.

Last month during a school board meeting, the Fort Worth, Texas, Board of Education unanimously voted to confirm Choudhury as the next deputy superintendent of Leading and Learning for the Fort Worth Independent School District.

“Even though he is not here today,” Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angelica Ramsey said at the board meeting. “I would like to welcome Mohammed Choudhury as deputy superintendent for Fort Worth ISD.”

This vote took place June 25, nearly three years to the day after Choudhury came to Maryland to lead the Maryland State Department of Education.

When Choudhury was hired as Maryland State Superintendent of Schools on July 1, 2021, he came from Texas where he was an associate superintendent in San Antonio. But Choudhury’s time in Maryland was short lived and highly controversial, as a FOX45 investigation uncovered a pattern of secrecy and mismanagement at MSDE.

FOX45’s investigation into Choudhury started in January 2023, when MSDE removed and then redacted state test scores from its website without telling the public. Then, through a series of public records requests, FOX45 News discovered that Choudhury was using a secondary email account to conduct business, and that his state-issued cell phone was set to auto delete text messages after 30 days. Twelve messages were deleted after FOX45 filed a public records request to obtain them.

As the investigation continued, FOX45 News obtained screenshots showing Choudhury had used an encrypted messaging app, Signal, to communicate with employees at MSDE. Signal allows users to enable a setting to automatically delete messages. But when asked about using Signal, Choudhury initially denied it.

“Mr. Superintendent, have you ever used the Signal Application in commission of your job?” FOX45 News’ Chris Papst asked Choudhury during an August 2023 state board meeting.

“I have no comment. For my job, no,” replied Choudhury.

Choudhury later issued a statement clarifying that he used the encrypted messaging app with “family and friends.”

Days later, he announced he would resign as superintendent on Oct. 6, 2023, and transition to a new role as senior adviser to the state school board. Choudhury kept his salary of $310,000. Choudhury officially left MSDE on May 2. In the roughly seven months he held the job as a senior adviser, he was paid around $180,000.

Prior to being hired in Fort Worth, Choudhury had applied for and was considered for positions around the country. He was publicly announced as a finalist for School Superintendent jobs in Madison, Wisconsin and Atlanta, Georgia. He also applied for the superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico. Choudhury was not selected for those jobs. And now, he’s going back to Texas.

“We are very excited to get him back to the great state of Texas and working with him so we can continue to build and grow our school district,” Ramsey said during the June board meeting. “So, congratulations and welcome, sir.”