Joy Hofmeister
14thOklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
In office January 12, 2015 – January 9, 2023
Governor	Mary Fallin Kevin Stitt
Preceded by	Janet Barresi
Succeeded by	Ryan Walters
Personal details
Born	Joy Lynn Janosky (1964-09-07)September 7, 1964 (age 61)
Political party	Republican (before 2021) Democratic (2021–present)
Spouse	Gerald Hofmeister
Children	4
Education	Texas Christian University (BA) University of Oklahoma (MA)
Website	Campaign website

Joy Lynn Hofmeister (néeJanosky, born September 7, 1964) is an American politician and educator who served as the 13thOklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2015 to 2023. A member of theDemocratic Party, Hofmeister was initially elected as aRepublican, but switched parties in 2021. As of 2025, she is the last Democrat to have held statewide office inOklahoma.

On October 7, 2021, Hofmeister switched parties to run for the Democratic nomination in Oklahoma's2022 gubernatorial election. She won the Democratic nomination and lost the general election to incumbentKevin Stitt.

Hofmeister is a former public school teacher and owner of aKumon afterschool program business fromTulsa, Oklahoma.^[1] In the private sector, she spent 15 years operatingKumon Math & Reading Centers of South Tulsa.^[2] This organization works through parent partnerships to ensure higher academic achievement for children.^{[citation needed]} During that time she personally worked with more than 4,000 students to improve their educational outcomes.^{[citation needed]}

Hofmeister graduated with a bachelor's degree in education fromTexas Christian University.^[3] As of May 2015, she is earning her master's degree in Education Administration with a specialty in Education Policy and Law from theUniversity of Oklahoma.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2012, Hofmeister was appointed to theOklahoma State Board of Education byGovernor Mary Fallin to fill the vacancy left by Phil Larkin Jr., who had vacated the seat after he was elected toTulsa's city council.^[3] While serving on the State Board of Education, Hofmeister opposedOklahoma State Superintendent of Public InstructionJanet Barresi's A-F grading scale for schools.^[4][5] She resigned from the board on April 24, 2013.^[6]

TheTulsa World had been speculating that State SuperintendentJanet Barresi would face a serious primary challenge since October 2012.^[7] On April 24, 2013, Hofmeister resigned from theOklahoma State Board of Education to consider a run for State Superintendent.^[8] On January 7, 2014, Hofmeister announced her exploratory campaign's steering committee, which included 20Republican state legislators.^[9] In her formal campaign announcement, Hofmeister denounced what she called the Barresi "reign of terror," critiquing the incumbent for a "cookie cutter" and "one size fits all" approach to education reform.^[1][10]

During the campaign Barresi requested copies, under Oklahoma's open records laws, of all emails Hofmeister had exchanged withJenks Public Schools since 2007. Hofmeister had been a parent of a JPS student and served on the board of the Jenks Public Schools Foundation.^[11] Two of Barresi's campaign staffers reviewed over 7,000 pages of emails.^[12] The campaign later requested all emails between Hofmeister andTulsa Public Schools,Sand Springs Public Schools,Sapulpa Public Schools, andUnion Public Schools.^[13]

Barresi had a financial lead over Hofmeister throughout the campaign,^[14][15] ultimately spending almost $910,000 of her own money.^[15] Hofmeister, however, led in Republican primary polls,^[16] and won the June 2014 Republican primary, defeating Barresi.^[17] She defeatedDemocrat John Cox in the November general election.^[18] She was sworn in as Oklahoma's 14th Superintendent of Public Instruction on January 12, 2015.^[2]

In 2015, under Hofmeister's leadership, theOklahoma State Department of Education created a statewide program for all high school juniors to take theACT at no cost to families or schools.^[19] The program was expanded to allow a district to choose between ACT or SAT in 2016.^[20] In 2017, the program sparked a 29 percent increase in ACT participation.^[21]

In 2016, Hofmeister led the charge to eliminate statewide end-of-instruction (EOI) exams for high school students, reducing the number of standardized tests to only those required under federal law (except US History), thereby significantly reducing testing costs.^[22]

In 2014,Oklahoma County District AttorneyDavid Prater announced his office was investigating complaints alleging that Hofmeister's campaign for superintendent and a "dark money"PAC.^[23] The investigation stemmed from emails the District Attorney's office received from the campaign ofJanet Barresi, Hofmeister's opponent. Hofmeister had allegedly met with Chad Alexander in April 2013, and Alexander later ran an anti-Barresi PAC. Hofmeister denounced the investigation as politically motivated.^[24]

Hofmeister was arrested in 2016, and charged with conspiracy and campaign finance violations in Oklahoma County. She denied wrongdoing and said: "I will vigorously defend my integrity and reputation against any suggestion of wrongdoing ... And I will fight the allegations that have been made against me."^[25]Oklahoma Democrats, as well as a few Republicans, called for Hofmeister to resign.^[26][27][28]

On August 1, 2017, District Attorney David Prater dismissed all charges against Hofmeister. Charges against four other defendants were also dropped.^[29] Hofmeister said, "I knew I was innocent and that I had conducted myself appropriately, and I am happy that this day has come."^[29] Prater confirmed in 2018 that the charges "will not be revived ... There is nothing there to look at."^[30]

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The conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute rated the Oklahoma ESSA accountability plan, included in "Oklahoma Edge," among the highest in the nation.^[31]

In 2018, the Oklahoma Legislature passed House Bill 1010xx, which raised more than half a billion dollars in revenue for the state. The landmark legislation, the first to earn the required three-fourths majority in both chambers since 1992, allowed for the first teacher pay raise in 10 years – an average salary increase of $6,100 for certified personnel. In addition, all full-time school support staff received a pay increase of $1,250.^[32] This measure was a significant victory for Hofmeister, who had advocated for competitive teacher pay since first taking office.^[33]

Hofmeister has worked to initiate a discussion surrounding mental health and resiliency for children, exploring the science of childhood trauma and its effects on learning. The Oklahoma State Department of Education organized statewide summits in 2018 and 2019, offering training for educators who are often the first to encounter trauma in individual children.^[34] Hofmeister is also pursuing the addition of a School Counselor Corps to increase the number of counselors in schools.^[35]

In 2021, Hofmeister changed her affiliation from Republican to theDemocratic Party to run in the2022 gubernatorial election.^[36] Hofmeister "describes herself as a moderate who can appeal to Oklahoma Republicans dissatisfied with the party’sTrumpist shift to the right" and takes a "centrist approach to many key policy issues, including abortion rights, taxation and teaching about race in schools." Hofmeister, running in reaction against Gov.Kevin Stitt, stated that he had madeMcGirt v. Oklahoma a political issue. Some Democrats were reported to "believe Hofmeister might be the right candidate to appeal to moderate Republicans willing to cross party lines."^[37] In 2022, before the overturning ofRoe v. Wade, she had said that abortion is a "healthcare decision between a woman and her doctor, and it needs to stay that way."^[38] Hofmeister had clashed with Stitt in the past over school vouchers and education spending.^[39]

On election day, Hofmeister won 481,904 votes or 42% of the vote, a smaller percentage than 2018 Democrat nominee Edmondson. Although Stitt won by a comfortable margin, and actually expanded his margin of victory from 2018, his performance was double digits below other 2022 Republican candidate for statewide office in Oklahoma. Stitt also lost three counties that voted Republican in the 2020 U.S. presidential race: Cleveland, Oklahoma, and Tulsa. Meanwhile, Hofmeister's performance was the second best of any 2022 Democratic statewide candidate in Oklahoma, only behind State Superintendent of Public Instruction nominee Jena Nelson.

Hofmeister is a mother of four, all of whom attendedJenks Public Schools inJenks, Oklahoma.^[12] Hofmeister served as an officer for the Jenks Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors.^[1]

Hofmeister currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her husband Gerald Hofmeister.^[40] Hofmeister is aSouthern Baptist.^[41]

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