[2] In 1931, Frank Lloyd Wright and his wife, Olgivanna, circulated a prospectus to an international group of distinguished scholars, artists, and friends, announcing their plan to form a school at Taliesin in Spring Green where students would “Learn by Doing.”  Education at Taliesin emphasized painting, sculpture, music, drama, and dance “in their places as divisions of architecture.” Each of these elements of the fine arts, as the Wrights conceived them, would lead to broader learning.

The apprenticeship program continued after the school gained formal accreditation in 1986, and the apprentices would be engaged in the design and operational activities of Taliesin Associated Architects on projects like Monona Terrace, until the Wright's legacy firm disbanded in 2003.

The apprenticeship program, the Taliesin Fellowship, evolved into the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, which was established in response to changing licensing requirements for architects, particularly the requirement to graduate from an accredited institution prior to sitting for the Architect Registration Examination.

"[4] Despite this internal discord, the school pressed on, and under the leadership of Dean Tom Casey, became a fully accredited program in 1986.

In 2014, the school's accreditation was challenged by the Higher Learning Commission based on new regulations that required it to have independent budgeting and governance from its parent organization, The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

The school maintained its accreditation through 2020 following the closure announcement by establishing itself as an independent entity and moving to a new historic campus.

"[14] This announcement followed the failure of discussions between the board and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation about the creation of new, non-accredited educational programs.

[13][14] It was reported that prior to the closure announcement, the school and the foundation were in talks to develop alternative educational programming that did not require accreditation.