The Southern History of Education Society (SHOES) held its first conference at Georgia State University in Atlanta in 1970. Until 1980 it was held in the fall, that year it was skipped and it was held in the spring thereafter. The conference has been held at a different college or university each spring, usually mid-March, for two days (a Friday and Saturday). The conference has a tradition of charging no registration fees, instead relying on the host institution to sponsor the event. There are no membership dues to join SHOES. The conference is open to all -- faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, independent scholars, and others -- who are interested in the history of education in the South and beyond. ​

A fifty-year retrospective was held online in 2021 and the 50th anniversary conference was held at Georgia State in 2022.