The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected executive position in the North Carolina state government. The Superintendent is the secretary and chief administrative officer of the State Board of Education, and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the state's public school system.

The State Constitution of 1868 first identified the position of Superintendent of Public Instruction as a new office within the Executive Branch, and it was made part of the Council of State.

The Department of Public Instruction, with the Superintendent at its helm, manages the daily operations of the state's entire public school system. The department has a staff of nearly 750 people that is directly involved in the education of North Carolina's students, leading the public schools in the areas of curriculum and instruction, accountability, finance, teacher and administrator preparation and licensing, professional development, and school business support and operations.

In addition to ensuring the education of North Carolina's children, and the office is responsible for:

- Enforcing North Carolina's state education laws
- Implementing State Board of Education policies and procedures
- Managing public school funds totaling approximately $8 billion in state and federal funds
- Licensing the almost 120,000 public school teachers and administrators
- Collaborating with the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching, the NC Teacher Academy, the NC virtual Public School, the nine Regional Education Service Alliances/Consortia, and the state's 115 local education agencies

The Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education share responsibility for the public education system. Much of the administrative support comes from the board, which includes an executive director, staff attorney, and legislative liaison. Within the authority of the Superintendent, there are three main divisions:

- The Organizational Support Division manages public relations, human resources, policy and strategic planning, and communications for the entire department.

- The Financial and Business Services Division is responsible for the financial management and licensing. The Office of Charter Schools also falls under the purview of this division.

- The Academic Services and Instructional Support Division directly administers the state's educational programs. The Curriculum, Instruction, Accountability, and Technology Services Office within the division provides career-technical education, exceptional children instructional technology, K-12 curriculum and instruction, and early learning programs.

In 1852, the General Assembly created the Office of General Superintendent of Common Schools. Calvin Wiley was appointed to this position with a salary to be paid from the Literary Fund. This office allowed for local school officials to coordinate their efforts with activities and policies at the state level.

The General Assembly of 1855 re-established the Literary Board as the Board of Literature declaring it a "body politic and corporate" under the name "The President and General Directors of the Literary Fund of North Carolina." Members included the Governor, as ex-officio President, and three other directors appointed by the Governor with the advice of the Council of State. The Board of Literature was vested with full power to order a survey of state owned swamp lands and to order construction for their use and improvement. A fund for the common schools was created with the profit made from the land sales. The directors met for the last time in 1865 before the fall of the Confederacy.