History
The choir and school were founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1937, by Herbert Huffman who believed that "the experience of performing the great choral literature – and performing it at the highest professional levels – could have a profound effect on the academic, social and moral development of boys".Founded originally as the Columbus Boychoir, the group moved to Princeton in 1950. It changed its name to the American Boychoir in 1980.

Former choir directors at the choir school include Donald Bryant, Donald G. Hanson,John Kuzma, Jim Litton, Craig Dennison, and Wallace Hornady.
From 1985 to 2001, the choir was conducted by James Litton, an expert on children's choral techniques and vocal production. Regarded as one of America's prominent choral conductors, Litton led the boychoir in more than 2,000 concerts in 49 states and 12 nations.

In April, 2002, The New York Times reported sexual abuse which had taken place at the Boychoir School several decades earlier by Choir Director Donald G. Hanson and other staff. In court documents, the American Boychoir claimed that it had no duty to protect children in their care from sexual abuse and that children who were abused were themselves negligent for not bringing the abuse to light. One of the students who had claimed that he was victimized was constitutional scholar Lawrence Lessig, who has represented another student, John Hardwicke, in his lawsuit against the school. In its court filings, the school claimed that Hardwicke, then 12, had consented to sex and said that he was negligent in not reporting the incident at the time.Many other boys have now come forward and said they were sexually abused, either by staff members or other older students enrolled at the school. This abuse occurred in the 1970s, 1980's, and even into the late 1990s. The school has now adopted new policies to protect the boys from further sexual abuse, but has paid over $450,000 in settlement money to victims to avoid further lawsuits.

On August 8, 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled against the school's appeal of a lower court decision.The school had contended that the state's charitable immunity act protected it from liability in sexual abuse lawsuits brought by former students. The court found that the Charitable Immunity Act immunizes charities for negligence only; it does not bar statutory or common-law claims that are based on willful, wanton or grossly negligent conduct.The school's lawyers requested the New Jersey Supreme Court to reconsider the decision, claiming the ruling represented a major extension of vicarious liability.

On January 5, 2006, then-Governor of New Jersey Richard Codey signed bill S540/A2512 into New Jersey law, ending the Boychoir's charitable immunity defense, and making New Jersey the 48th state to allow victims of childhood sex abuse to sue churches, schools and other non-profits for the actions of their staff.

The lawsuit has been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. Both parties agreed, as part of the resolution, not to comment on the details. Choir Director Donald Hanson moved back to his native Canada and he nor any accused staff members have ever responded to the accusations.