Blackboard Announces New State and System-Wide Clients of Blackboard Connect

  Agreements Join Others That Will Bring Blackboard's e-Learning and Mass

          Notification Services to State & System-Wide Communities



    LAS VEGAS, July 16 /EMWNews-FirstCall/ -- Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq:

BBBB), a leading provider of enterprise technology, announced today several

new agreements with clients that will bring its e-learning solutions and

mass notification services to a number of state and system-wide

communities.



    Together, the agreements suggest a new model for states, state systems

and other large entities interested in better connecting individual

campuses and communities through common service platforms that can be used

to fulfill more efficient and integrated e-learning and communication

objectives.



    The new agreements include partnerships with several states and state

systems that will use the multi-modal mass notification services offered by

Blackboard Connect(TM):



    -- The State of Florida selected Blackboard for a pilot program

allowing the Florida Division of Emergency Management and four Florida

counties within the I-4 Corridor, including Brevard County, Orange County,

Pasco County, and Polk County, to use the Connect-GOV(R) service for

time-sensitive alerts and notifications. Collectively, over 1 million

households will be included in the pilot.



    -- The State of Mississippi has implemented Blackboard's Connect-GOV

service to provide the Executive Director of Mississippi Emergency

Management Agency (MEMA) and the Governor of Mississippi the ability to

communicate with residents and staff regarding time-sensitive incidents,

which may include planned and unforeseen public safety matters. For

additional information, please visit http://www.msema.org



    -- The Oregon University System selected Blackboard's Connect-ED

service to provide university leaders with the ability to quickly reach

students, faculty and staff with time-sensitive information. Under the

terms of the agreement, any public or private campus, including community

colleges, within the state can acquire the Connect-ED service.



    The announcements were made in Las Vegas, Nevada, where more than 2,000

members of the global e-learning community convened at BbWorld(R) '08,

Blackboard's annual event focused on best practices and innovative

breakthroughs in education technology.



    At BbWorld '08, Blackboard also announced new agreements with the State

of New Mexico, which has selected Blackboard as a partner in a landmark

initiative to deploy a single, statewide e-learning platform that will be

the first of its kind to connect teaching, learning, and training for the

state's K-20, adult education, and government communities. In addition, the

University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College

System both selected Blackboard to create a statewide e-learning platform

for nearly all of the state's 74 public colleges and universities and

roughly 1 million college students.



    "We are excited to partner with a pioneering group of states and

statewide systems that have selected Blackboard as their partner to bring

e-learning solutions and mass notification services to their entire

communities," said Michael L. Chasen, President and CEO of Blackboard. "In

creating statewide platforms, we are working with these states to create a

new model for delivering these services; one that can significantly improve

engagement and connection between individual campuses and communities."



    For more information about Blackboard, please visit

http://www.blackboard.com

    About Blackboard, Inc.



    Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise

technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions

of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions

allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and

government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate

campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their

communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington,

D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.



    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 Form 10-Q filed on May 9, 2008 with

the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press

release represent the Company's views as of July 16, 2008. 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 16, 2008.