[3] Smart was founded in 1987 by husband and wife David Martin and Nancy Knowlton.

[7] In 2009, Smart filed a patent infringement lawsuit against New Zealand-based NextWindow[8] before acquiring the company outright in 2010.

[10][11] Later that year, several class action complaints were filed against Smart in the U.S. District Courts in New York and Illinois.

In April 2012, amid a declining stock price and sales resulting from decreased school board spending, both Martin and Knowlton resigned from their executive roles at Smart before leaving the board in April 2014.

[18] Then-CEO Neil Gaydon stated that it would save the company approximately $40 million, and cited competition in the market as part of the reason for restructuring.