HOUSTON, Texas– Houston Independent School District (HISD) officials confirmed that a Worthing High School employee sent a lewd Snapchat video to an 18-year-old student and solicited sex, leading to his termination in 2024.
Lloyd Ford, the employee, remains on the Texas Education Agency’s “Do Not Hire” list, preventing him from working in Texas public schools while state investigators review the case.
Ford denied the allegations, claiming he did not know the student involved.
HISD stated it did not notify the public because Ford had not been criminally charged. The District Attorney’s Office decided not to file charges, citing insufficient evidence from HISD police.
Ford, who plans to run for City Council in 2027, called the allegations politically motivated. He also presented a document claiming the allegation was “not substantiated,” but HISD disputed this and provided a version confirming the allegations.
Ford, who started at Worthing High in the 2023-24 school year, had faced a separate lawsuit in 2018 that was dropped after he took “good faith actions.”
The allegations were reported to HISD’s Title IX office by Worthing High Principal Alexandria Gregoire in April 2024. HISD police conducted a criminal investigation, and the Employee Relations Investigations department handled a human resources probe.
By late May 2024, HISD substantiated the sexual harassment claim but did not release details about the misconduct or evidence.
As of fall 2024, no charges had been filed, but both HISD and the District Attorney’s Office stated that new evidence could reopen the investigation.
A review of policies from Texas’ 10 largest school districts found none had formal guidelines for communicating allegations of educator misconduct.
