Mark Johnson is an American attorney and politician who served as North Carolina's Superintendent of Public Instruction for one term.

Prior to his election as state superintendent, Johnson served for two years on the Forsyth County School Board while working as a lawyer in Winston-Salem.

[7] Prior to the start of the 2018 school year, Johnson announced that all K-3 teachers would be receiving new iPads as part of the state's "Read to Achieve" program using existing funds.

"[9] Johnson also launched the "TeachNC" initiative (a joint effort between the Department of Public Instruction and the nonprofits Best NC and Teach.org, supported by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IBM, Microsoft, and others, to improve teacher recruitment and retention.

[2][18][19] In 2016, shortly after Johnson's election, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation in a special session to shift power from the State Board of Education to the state superintendent, granting Johnson power over the $10 billion North Carolina education budget.

[18] This prompted a legal battle,[2] culminating in a North Carolina Supreme Court decision, in which both sides claimed a partial victory.

[24] In February 2020, Johnson used a state database to send 540,000 text messages and 800,000 emails to parents and teachers, polling them about Common Core.

"[25] The mass text prompted a few teachers and parents to file complaints against Johnson with the State Ethics Commission, alleging a politically motivated use of state resources to send a campaign-style message[26][27] that coincided with the beginning of early voting in the North Carolina primary elections, in which Johnson was on the ballot in the race for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.