From 1680 to 1920, Schalkau was part of Saxe-Meiningen, from 1920 to 1952 of the State of Thuringia, from 1952 to 1990 of the Bezirk Suhl of East Germany and since 1990 again of Thuringia.
There is one secondary school, educating pupils 11-16 (ordinarily) which falls into the 'Realschule' category. The school is named after the famous German writer, Goethe. There is a post office and a few other facilities.