The School for the Talented and Gifted was established in 1982 as part of a desegregation court order. Its curriculum was designed to provide a comprehensive academic program to serve identified talented and gifted students in grades nine through twelve. The school was originally located in west Dallas on the L.G. Pinkston High School campus. In the 1990s, DISD allocated money for a new "magnet center" as an experiment in accelerated high school education. This magnet center would house six different schools, each offering college-preparatory and pre-professional programs alongside a solid academic education. The TAG Magnet, along with five other magnet schools, moved to the new Yvonne A. EwellTownview Magnet Center in the fall of 1995. Initially, TAG students were taught alongside the students at the other magnet schools, but after a TAG student uprising that included petitions, letters to the newspaper, pleas to the school board, peaceful protests including walk-outs, and other measures, TAG was given an increased number of self-contained classes and permission to have their own teaching staff that was specialized in talented and gifted teaching methods for the classroom. It was largely the graduating class of 1997 that fought for these changes.