Early history of public education in Redlands was established by the local Estancia outpost of the San Gabriel Mission by Spanish missionaries in 1820.

The Mission School taught local native tribes about agriculture, religion among other things.

Redlands High School's current campus on Citrus Avenue was completed in 1892, it has remained in the same location since opening day, the only high school in California still operating on its original site.

[5] Lugonia Elementary was named after the Lugo family of California, early settlers of Redlands before incorporation.

E. M. Cope Middle School, founded in 1957, is named after Edward Mitchell Cope, local business owner and founder of the Redlands chapter of the Red Cross, who also donated land to build the Community Hospital.

In 2015, Redlands East Valley High School 2014 varsity cheerleaders were criticized for dressing up in costume gang attire with fake weaponry inside the school's gymnasium depicting a supposed "Latino Gang".

[17] From as early as 1995 the district has also had a large number, adjusted for its size, of child molestation and abuse cases.

This includes criminal and civil cases involving Redlands teachers Lopez, Whitehurst, Kirkland, Koonce, Kelly, and Timothy Rochester, among others, and is an on-going problem with screening and grooming in the district.

To date, the district has paid out over 50 million in damages to affected students and families.