BBBB Blackboard (MM)

Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB), a leading provider of technology to education institutions worldwide, announces a new customized e-Learning product for the K-12 market, the Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition(TM). This new solution is a hosted package featuring a variety of resources for K-12 districts in the early stages of establishing an e-Learning strategy. The Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition combines curriculum delivery, professional development, home-to-school connections and community building capabilities in one central online hub. Designed to meet the needs of districts, teachers, parents and students, the Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition enables districts to: -- Easily provide classroom materials online with students (without having to know HTML); -- Engage parents by allowing them to view student progress; -- Enable 24/7 access to learning materials in a secure environment; -- Offer innovative testing methods and self-assessments for individualized learning paths; and -- Take advantage of secure, around-the-clock, technology hosting. "Blackboard (technology) has been a great solution for our virtual high school system and some of our professional development offerings," said Ryan LeClaire, Director of Instructional Technology at Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, WA. "The Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition is the right fit for us at the right time. We can employ most, if not all of the features, right out of the gate to create a robust online learning environment, and can maintain, manage and perhaps add on to it as our programs mature from infancy. The Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition is an excellent value and clearly demonstrates Blackboard's understanding of the fiscal, logistical, and other complex issues school districts encounter as they implement new programs." The Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition is intended for districts in the early stages of developing an e-Learning strategy. This new solution offers a comprehensive platform for up to 2,000 users, available at a competitive price point, to help districts get familiar with the features and benefits of a learning management platform. A Blackboard(R) training program is also available to help schools kick-start the implementation. The Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition is comprised of the features teachers and parents have requested such as parent roles, moderated discussion boards, self assessments and testing with multiple attempts. "We developed the Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition to offer schools and districts a quick and easy way to jump-start their e-Learning initiatives as a catalyst for enhancing teaching and learning," said Michael L. Chasen, president and chief executive officer of Blackboard. "We have seen a lot of schools trying different programs and disparate technologies to meet a variety of challenges. Many have expressed an interest in one platform to streamline the process. The Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition was developed to meet that need." For more information on the Blackboard K-12 Starter Edition please visit http://www.blackboard.com/k12/Starter_Edition.htm About Blackboard Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) is a leading provider of enterprise software applications and related services to the education industry. Founded in 1997, Blackboard enables educational innovations everywhere by connecting people and technology. With two product suites, the Blackboard Academic Suite(TM) and the Blackboard Commerce Suite(TM), Blackboard solutions are used by millions of people at academic institutions around the globe, including colleges, universities, K-12 schools and other education providers, as well as textbook publishers and student-focused merchants that serve education providers and their students. Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Blackboard Educate. Innovate. Everywhere.(TM) Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 10, 2006 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of July 5, 2006. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to July 5, 2006.