NC Department of Public Instruction
U.S. state government agency, Democratic-led
Background
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction was established by the state legislature in 1852, with roots going back to 1817 when state senator Archibald Murphey first proposed a publicly financed school system. The department is charged with overseeing pre-K through 12th grade public education across the state's 115 local school districts, 2,500-plus district public schools, and more than 200 charter schools. It manages roughly $14 billion in state and federal school funding annually and oversees the licensure of approximately 120,000 teachers and administrators. The agency's leader, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, is a statewide elected office; Mo Green, a Democrat and former superintendent of the Guilford County school district, won the November 2024 election and took office January 1, 2025. Press releases from NCDPI are official agency communications announcing policy decisions, program launches, funding announcements, and statements on legislative or federal developments — they reflect the institutional and political priorities of whoever leads the agency. Under Green, NCDPI has publicly criticized the Trump administration's freeze of $165 million in federal K-12 funds (July 2025), warned against proposed federal education budget cuts, and joined a multistate lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education over frozen funds.
Sources
- Department of Public Instruction | NCpedia
- About DPI | NC DPI
- Mo Green - Ballotpedia
- North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction - Ballotpedia
- Trump administration freezes $165 million in federal funds for NC public schools | WUNC
- Statement from NC State Superintendent Maurice 'Mo' Green on President Trump's Executive Order | NC DPI
- NC joins lawsuit vs. Trump's Department of Education over $165m in frozen K-12 funds | WUNC
- Press Releases | NC DPI
Profile compiled 2026-07-15; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.