Martin Luther King High School opened in 1999 and was the first high school to be built in Riverside, California since Arlington High School’s opening in 1973.

The first year enrollment was 858 students in grades 9 and 10.

Its first four-year class (students who attended Martin Luther King High School for all four years of their high school career) graduated in 2003.

The student body scored above district and state averages on assessments.

[3] The following Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered:[citation needed]