SouthernWorldwide.com – The U.S. Department of Education has initiated an investigation into Smith College, a renowned women’s institution located in Massachusetts, concerning its admission of transgender women.
The department stated in a press release that Smith College has been admitting individuals identified as “biological men.” This probe is being conducted by the department’s Office of Civil Rights.
The investigation will ascertain whether the college’s policies violate Title IX. This federal law, enacted in 1972, prohibits sex-based discrimination within educational programs and activities.
This action represents the latest move by the Trump administration, which has frequently voiced opposition to transgender rights, to curtail such rights across the United States. The administration has previously asserted that Title IX restricts transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.
This stance has led to lawsuits against several states and prompted investigations into educational institutions for non-compliance.
Smith College, a private liberal arts college established in 1871, has been admitting transgender women since 2015. This policy aligns with that of many other elite women’s colleges.
The college’s admission policies first gained significant attention and triggered on-campus activism in 2013. At that time, a transgender high school senior was denied admission because her gender identity did not align with the information on her financial aid forms.
Currently, the college’s official website states that “any applicants who self-identify as women; cis, trans, and nonbinary women” are eligible to apply.
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Advocacy groups have largely supported this inclusive shift over the years. They emphasize that women’s colleges were historically founded to provide educational opportunities for individuals marginalized due to their gender.
The number of women’s colleges in the U.S. has seen a considerable decline. As of the fall of 2023, there were only 30 such institutions, a significant drop from over 200, according to the Women’s College Coalition.
A spokesperson for Smith College did not immediately provide a comment when contacted via email.
According to the Department of Education’s press release, Title IX includes an exception that permits colleges to maintain single-sex admissions (all-male or all-female). However, this exception is strictly based on “biological sex difference, not subjective gender identity.”
The release quotes Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey, who stated, “An all-women’s college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males. Allowing biological males into spaces designed for women raises serious concerns about privacy, fairness, and compliance under federal law.” Richey added, “The Trump Administration will continue to uphold the law and fight to restore common sense.”
The investigation into Smith College was prompted by a complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights in June 2025. The complaint was lodged by Defending Education, a conservative legal organization.
In a press release, Defending Education stated, “DE and its members oppose, among other things, discrimination on the basis of sex in America’s K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.”
During the Biden administration, new Title IX regulations were introduced with the aim of preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, these regulations were subsequently blocked by a federal judge in January 2025, who cited legal deficiencies in their implementation.
