With the help of those who have signed up for and contributed to our Title IX Lawsuits Database of due process / Title IX lawsuits, we’re now able to improve and expand it more rapidly than was previously possible. For example, here is a summary of updates since it was relaunched three weeks ago:

• 33 new lawsuits have been added, in addition to the 30 added upon relaunch, for a total of 63 lawsuits that weren’t available in the earlier version of the database.
• 89 updates were made to existing lawsuits, with a strong focus on case outcomes and case summaries.
• 19 new law firms litigating these cases have been added, both in the law firms spreadsheet and interactive map.
• We’re aware of 17 new schools that have been sued. They have been added to the Schools spreadsheet and interactive map as well.
• 122 legal files were added to the database, with a strong focus on Complaints, Motions to Dismiss, and Orders regarding MTDs or Orders that terminate cases.

Beyond making regular updates to database records, for at least ten months running, including this month, we will be adding a new feature or expand the scope of the database each month. These upgrades will ramp up considerably in scope and impact as time progresses. We’ll announce monthly upgrades around the second or third week of each month, starting today.

December’s New Feature: Changelog

This month’s primary upgrade is the Changelog. Its purpose is to help users keep track of the most recent updates and additions to lawsuits, law firms, schools, case files, and database tech upgrades. Once logged in, users can access it from the database sub-menu.

The Changelog is divided into seven parts. The first is an interactive pie chart on database updates, with each slice representing a different type of update.  Clicking on a slice will pull up a snapshot report of the recent updates for that slice.

After this interactive chart, the core of the Changelog is divided into six other parts, which are also found in the Changelog page in the sub-menu. They are as follows:

1. A spreadsheet of new lawsuits added to the database
2. A spreadsheet of updates to lawsuits that were already in the database
3. A spreadsheet of new law firms added to the database
4. A spreadsheet of schools defendants added to the database
5. A spreadsheet of files added to the database
6. A spreadsheet of new database features or other tech improvements

These spreadsheets are all sorted by date so that you will always see the latest updates topside.

The Changelog has also been tied in to the “Details” page of each individual lawsuit. Let’s say you are on the main Lawsuits spreadsheet view, and you click on the “More Details” button when viewing John Doe v. Regents of the University of Southern California (Lawsuit Record # 271). In addition to seeing the full detail of the lawsuit and relevant files, at the bottom you’ll now see a Changelog for that lawsuit describing a history of updates. 

As we continue to expand the database, the Changelog will have more to keep track of, so it will be necessary to occasionally expand its scope in the future. This wraps up the Changelog for now, however.

Speed Upgrades

Lastly, on December 6th we streamlined some old, cobwebby code. The result: database load speeds have been cut in half, from ~6 seconds to ~3 seconds on average across all devices. Your mileage may vary depending on your connection, location, and which page is being loaded.

We’ve got more planned. Thank you for helping make this happen!

Sincerely,

The Title IX for All team