[4] Following passage of a state law lifting the ban on establishment of new school districts, the six incorporated suburbs in the county each voted in July 2013 to establish six independent municipal school districts.

Until July 1, 2013, it served residents of Shelby County except for the city of Memphis (which established its own public school system in 1867).

[6] Over decades of development and change, the city of Memphis and Shelby County differed in their ability to support their school systems.

This arrangement was changed due to Tennessee's interpretation of its constitutional requirement that county officials, including school boards, be elected by all residents of the county, as well as elements of the state's Education Improvement Act of 1992, which addressed election of school boards.

[12] Following the merger, the state legislature passed a law that lifted the statewide ban on forming new school districts; this was effectively for Shelby County only, as it limited new special school districts to only counties with populations over 900,000.

The six incorporated municipalities had elections in which voters chose to establish their own independent school districts.

On April 16, 2021, then-superintendent Dr. Joris M. Ray (resigned because of a private divorce became public) revealed the Reimagining 901 plan in his State of the District address.

[13] The rebranding was made official after a board meeting on January 25, 2022, when the doing business as was changed to Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Entrance requirements vary between each Optional school, but are generally based on conduct, attendance, report cards, and standardized test scores.

As of 2013[update] the corridor linking the wings had double-locked doors, and the glass panels had been covered by particle boards.

Irving Hamer, the deputy superintendent of Memphis City Schools, described the barrier as "our Berlin Wall.