How AI and a Global Pandemic led to a $175M Investment: Ardis Kadiu’s Element451 Story
The FTC published a press release on December 1, 2025, summarizing its complaint and proposed consent order against an education technology company ("Company") providing Pre-K through 12 software and assessment tools to...more
On November 6, California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta, Connecticut AG William Tong, and New York AG Letitia James announced a $5.1 million settlement with Illuminate Education, Inc. (Illuminate), an educational technology...more
On November 6, 2025, the California, Connecticut, and New York Attorneys General (collectively, the “Attorneys General”) announced a settlement with Illuminate Education, Inc. to resolve allegations that the company violated...more
Each summer and fall the Indiana General Assembly assembles Interim Study Committees to dive deep into important topics in advance of the upcoming legislative session. These committees bring together legislators, state...more
The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with an education technology provider alleged to have violated the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) by failing to provide consumers with a simple mechanism to...more
In this episode of the Founder Shares podcast, host Trevor Schmidt sits down with Ardis Kadiu, founder and CEO of Element451. Ardis shares his journey from an engineer to a successful entrepreneur, recounting how he spun off...more
On March 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14242 directing the Secretary of Education “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, [to] take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of...more
On March 27, 2025, a class action lawsuit was filed against the education technology (EdTech) company Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, a popular learning management system. The complaint alleges that Instructure...more
Artificial intelligence or “AI” traces its roots to Alan Turing’s work in the 1950s. While it’s a current hot topic, AI is far from new. Students and teachers have been using AI in some form for years in everyday life, such...more
On January 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission finalized changes to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. ...more
While students are about to embark on their holiday break, there is no such luck for educational technology (“EdTech”) providers. Privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence compliance obligations have proliferated...more
Educational technology (EdTech) tools were critical during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain a key part of education, from digital textbooks and instructional material, to interactive applications for teachers, parents, and...more
In September, Pennsylvania Attorney General (AG) Michelle Henry filed a lawsuit against Pittsburgh-based Digital Dream Labs, Inc., and its CEO, Harold Jacob Hanchar, individually and in his capacity as CEO. In the lawsuit,...more
Now that independent schools are well into the 2024-2025 school year, independent schools are turning their attention toward enrollment and re-enrollment season for the 2025-2026 school year. ...more
On May 23, the Biden Administration announced several new initiatives to support the development of a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy. The initiatives focus on: (1) outlining a plan to increase federal...more
Welcome to Holland & Knight's monthly data privacy and security news update that includes the latest in policy, regulatory updates and other significant developments. ...more
Welcome back to Holland & Knight's monthly data privacy and security news update that includes the latest in policy, regulatory updates and other significant developments. ...more
In our second issue, we looked at some focus areas for M&A insurers in the software/SaaS, internet telephony and on-demand sectors. In this note, we dig deeper into key underwriting topics for fintech, edtech and healthtech/...more
Education has moved online, and students as young as pre-kindergarten are engaging in hours of remote learning via educational technology each school day. This has led all of us to think about the myriad of state and federal...more
“U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Friday, August 16, 2019, sent letters to numerous education technology (EdTech) companies inquiring about data collection practices on...more
Some interesting links we found across the web this week: Scaling an EdTech Startup? Here’s What You Need to Know - If you’re an educator new to the startup game, stop by this two-part piece from Inc42 about the unique...more
Today begins the first ever London Edtech Week with 20+ events June 19-23 and will coincide with the fifth annual EdTechXEurope conference June 20 and 21. Through a series of meet-ups, product demonstrations, cocktail events,...more
On April 13, 2017, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published Spying on Students, a report detailing its investigation into school-issued devices and student privacy. EFF found that parents were overwhelmingly not...more
Last week I was in Austin, Texas attending one of the largest gatherings of education innovators in the world, the SXSWedu Conference and Festival. After some time thinking about all of the great discussions I had, I want to...more
New NC Law Enhances Student Privacy Rights and Restricts Providers of Online Educational Resources Education technology (or "EdTech"), organizations will want to pay close attention to a new North Carolina statute that...more