Every claim on this site, and where it comes from.
Two tables. The first lists the factual claims this site makes and what each rests on, including the ones that rest only on CUDL's own records. The second lists every outside source we link to, grouped by what kind of source it is, with the result of an automated check run on September 19, 2026.
Generated from the site's own content and link check at build time, so it cannot drift from what the pages actually say. Read the editorial standards for how this material is written and corrected.
Claims ledger
If a claim is not in this table and not attributed on the page where it appears, treat it as an error and tell us. Claims that rest only on CUDL's records say so; we would rather label them than dress them up.
| Claim | Basis | Page |
|---|---|---|
| More than twenty partner schools, all Title I, in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and the metro | CUDL program records, September 2026. Not independently verifiable from this site; we do not publish school names. | Where it appears |
| Roughly 40,000 students enrolled across partner schools | CUDL program records, September 2026. This is the combined enrollment of partner schools, not the number of active debaters, and the site says so wherever the figure appears. | Where it appears |
| Founded in 2023, three seasons | CUDL records. | Where it appears |
| Coaching, materials, tournament entry, and transportation are free to partner schools | CUDL program policy. | Where it appears |
| Debaters in Chicago were 70 percent more likely to graduate and three times less likely to drop out | Mezuk (2009), Journal of Negro Education 78(3). African American male students, Chicago Public Schools records. Limitations listed with the study. | Where it appears |
| Houston debaters had GPAs 0.66 points higher and SAT scores 52 and 57 points higher | Ko and Mezuk (2021), Educational Research and Reviews 16(6), 35,788 students with propensity-score matching. | Where it appears |
| Boston debate participation raised English language arts scores by 0.13 standard deviations | Schueler and Larned (2023), Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, quasi-experimental design, more than 3,500 students. | Where it appears |
| The urban debate league model is rated Promising by a federal evidence registry | CrimeSolutions, National Institute of Justice, profile posted April 18, 2016. The registry notes the page is no longer updated. | Where it appears |
| Charlotte ranked 50th of 50 large metros for upward mobility in 2014 and 38th in the 2024 update | Chetty et al. (2014) and the Opportunity Insights 2024 update, as reported by WFAE and Axios on July 25, 2024. | Where it appears |
| Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has 103 Title I schools for 2026-27 | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Title I page, checked September 13, 2026. | Where it appears |
| The crescent and wedge pattern of income in Mecklenburg County | UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. The band drawn on our map is illustrative and the page says so. | Where it appears |
| Data centers used about 4.4 percent of U.S. electricity in 2023, projected at 6.7 to 12 percent by 2028 | Shehabi et al. (2024), 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Department of Energy. | Where it appears |
| 26.7 million people under 65 were uninsured in 2024 | KFF, Key Facts about the Uninsured Population, 2026 edition. | Where it appears |
| About 100 million people in the United States carry health care debt | KFF Health News with NPR, Diagnosis: Debt, June 16, 2022. | Where it appears |
| The 2026-27 resolutions in Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, Policy, and Big Questions | National Speech & Debate Association topics page, checked September 13, 2026. | Where it appears |
| NSDA topics are released on the first of the month before they take effect | The NSDA's published pattern. Release dates after October 1, 2026 are labeled expected on this site, not confirmed. | Where it appears |
| The 2026-27 North Carolina tournament schedule | Tarheel Forensic League published schedule, checked September 13, 2026. Host sites are public tournament venues, not CUDL partner schools. | Where it appears |
| The 2027 NSDA National Tournament is June 13 to 18 in Phoenix | National Speech & Debate Association, Last-Chance Qualifier page, checked September 14, 2026. | Where it appears |
| Speech times and event rules | NSDA rules as understood on September 13, 2026. Every format guide tells the reader to confirm current rules and local variations before competing. | Where it appears |
Source index
Every outside domain linked from any page, how many links point to it, and how many pages cite it. A link marked live returned a success code to our checker on the date above. Several institutions block automated requests; those are marked and were opened by hand.
Government and official data
Primary sources. Agency data, nonpartisan congressional support agencies, and treaty text.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| arctic.noaa.gov | 1 | 1 | Live |
| bjs.ojp.gov | 1 | 1 | Live |
| crimesolutions.ojp.gov | 1 | 3 | Live |
| crsreports.congress.gov | 24 | 5 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| disarmament.unoda.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| eric.ed.gov | 3 | 2 | Live |
| eta-publications.lbl.gov | 3 | 5 | Live |
| www.bls.gov | 1 | 2 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.cbo.gov | 4 | 5 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.cdc.gov | 1 | 1 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.census.gov | 1 | 2 | Live |
| www.cms.gov | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.congress.gov | 1 | 2 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.consumerfinance.gov | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.ed.gov | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.eia.gov | 2 | 4 | Checked by hand Returned a server error to the checker. Opened by hand. |
| www.fcc.gov | 1 | 1 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.gao.gov | 1 | 2 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.nasa.gov | 3 | 3 | Live |
| www.nationsreportcard.gov | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.nist.gov | 1 | 2 | Live |
| www.nrc.gov | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.pclob.gov | 1 | 2 | Live |
| www.unesco.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.unoosa.org | 2 | 3 | Live |
Peer-reviewed and academic
Journals, university presses, reference works, and preprints. Preprints are labeled where they appear.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| academicjournals.org | 2 | 2 | Live |
| arxiv.org | 2 | 2 | Live |
| doi.org | 7 | 9 | Live |
| global.oup.com | 1 | 3 | Live |
| hai.stanford.edu | 1 | 2 | Live |
| journals.law.harvard.edu | 1 | 1 | Live |
| journals.plos.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| mcfarlandbooks.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| nap.nationalacademies.org | 1 | 2 | Live |
| philarchive.org | 1 | 1 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| philpapers.org | 1 | 1 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| plato.stanford.edu | 5 | 6 | Live |
| scholarship.law.duke.edu | 1 | 1 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| theprecipice.com | 1 | 2 | Live |
| vce.usc.edu | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.cambridge.org | 2 | 1 | Live |
| www.lincolninst.edu | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.medrxiv.org | 1 | 1 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.myweb.ttu.edu | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.sciencedirect.com | 2 | 5 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
Research organizations
Nonpartisan and industry research. Industry-funded work is labeled in the evidence entry that uses it.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| kffhealthnews.org | 2 | 4 | Live |
| ourworldindata.org | 1 | 3 | Live |
| powering-intelligence.epri.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| publications.aap.org | 1 | 1 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| taxfoundation.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.cfr.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.commonwealthfund.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.ethree.com | 2 | 1 | Live |
| www.kff.org | 2 | 5 | Live |
| www.multistate.us | 1 | 6 | Live |
| www.nerc.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.pewresearch.org | 1 | 3 | Live |
| www.rockinst.org | 1 | 6 | Live |
Debate organizations
Leagues, associations, and community archives.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| chicagodebates.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| debatearguments.substack.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| opencaselist.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| openev.debatecoaches.org | 1 | 4 | Checked by hand Refused the connection from our checker. Opened by hand; if it is down when you try, the NDCA posts mirrors. |
| urbandebate.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| victorybriefs.substack.com | 2 | 2 | Live |
| www.ncspeechanddebate.org | 2 | 5 | Live |
| www.speechanddebate.org | 2 | 13 | Live |
| www.tabroom.com | 1 | 3 | Live |
News and commentary
Used for events, for reporting on primary documents, and for topic context. Never the only support for a factual claim.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| complexdiscovery.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| thehumanist.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.axios.com | 1 | 4 | Checked by hand Returned a block or rate-limit code to our checker; opened by hand. |
| www.kqed.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.latitudemedia.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.thecollector.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.unite.ai | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.wfae.org | 1 | 4 | Live |
Advocacy and interested parties
Organizations with a position in the debate. Cited only where the entry says what their interest is.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| netchoice.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| pnhp.org | 2 | 1 | Live |
Tools and search
Search launchers and site infrastructure.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| arctic-council.org | 1 | 1 | Live |
| www.cmsk12.org | 2 | 1 | Live |
Other
Everything else.
| Domain | Links | Pages citing it | Status on September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ai.google.dev | 1 | 1 | Live |
| energyathaas.wordpress.com | 1 | 1 | Live |
| ui.charlotte.edu | 3 | 1 | Live Blocked to automated clients. Opened and read by hand on the check date. |
| www.alight.com | 1 | 3 | Live |
| www.ally.com | 1 | 3 | Checked by hand Returned a server error to the checker. Opened by hand. |
| www.bankofamerica.com | 1 | 3 | Live |
| www.wellsfargo.com | 1 | 3 | Live |
What a status check does and does not prove
The check proves a link resolves. It does not prove the page still says what we say it says. That is what the review cycle is for: entries in the evidence library carry a verification date, and each one states the finding in our words so you can compare it against the source in two minutes.
If a source has moved, been revised, or been withdrawn, report it through the contact form. Dead links are corrections and are logged as corrections.
What we will not claim
- That any study proves what will happen to a particular student. Every study on the research page lists its own limitations.
- That our program figures are independently audited. They are program records, labeled as such.
- That a topic release date after October 1, 2026 is confirmed. Those are labeled expected.
- That a source says something we have not read in the original.
Check us.
Open any source, compare it to what we wrote, and tell us if they differ. That is the only quality control that works at scale.