DeBakey was a 2018 recipient of the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award.

[5] The curriculum was shaped in its early years as DeBakey was the world's first high school to specialize in medical professions.

DeBakey had around 30 unused classrooms, and district administrators argued that the Texas Medical Center location would be of use to pregnant students.

[10] Jennifer Radcliffe of the Houston Chronicle said that the proposed plan yielded a "mixed" reaction in DeBakey parents and students.

[12] In 2012, four DeBakey juniors qualified for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, two of them placed second in their respective categories detailing chitosan nanoparticles.

[15] The former DeBakey campus on Shenandoah hosted students from Braeburn Elementary School after Hurricane Harvey occurred in 2017.

As of 2008 it is the only Houston public high school to use this test, and as of that year its annual applicant count is 1,200.

[20] In 2000 $8 million in university scholarship funds, with a per-student average of $47,059, was distributed to 170 students in the DeBakey class of 2000.

Typically the University of Houston and Baylor College of Medicine give scholarships covering all tuition expenses to about ten students per class.

[6] According to the 2014 accountability rating by the Texas Education Agency,[23] Debakey high school met the standard, and had academic achievements in Reading/English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

Each year, students are required to complete a Health Science Technology (HST) class, which serve as the principle magnet program for the school.

The course selection includes: Students ultimately interact and are able to learn first-hand from physicians, surgeons and other professionals who work at various institutions of the Texas Medical Center.

They frequently witness live surgery there and attend seminars, making the learning experience unlike courses offered at other public schools in Houston.

Lynnsey Nguyen, a student who graduated from DeBakey in 2015, was recruited for the University of St. Thomas volleyball team.

The DeBakey orchestra is composed of musicians from 9th through 12th grades selected after a rigorous audition process.

As part of its partnership with Houston's Orchestra On Call Archived 2017-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, the DeBakey Orchestra presents concerts for patients, families and caregivers throughout the Texas Medical Center and other health care institutions, offering its students a purposeful way of sharing their musical talent with the community as well as providing them with an enriching outlet for artistic and emotional expression.

[24] In 2010, the school announced that its new uniform code will require students to buy shirts from the parent teacher organization.

METRO routes that serve DeBakey High School include 60 (South MacGregor/Hardy) and 68 (Brays Bayou Crosstown).