The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation Monday into Smith College, an all-women\u2019s institution in Massachusetts, for admitting transgender women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The probe by the department\u2019s Office of Civil Rights will look at whether the college violated Title IX, a 1972 law forbidding discrimination based on sex in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move is the latest by the Trump administration \u2014 whose rhetoric has frequently included attacks on trans people \u2014 to limit transgender rights in the U.S. The administration has said that Title IX prevents trans women from participating in women\u2019s sports, suing several states and launching investigations into schools for not complying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smith College, a private liberal arts school founded in 1871, has admitted trans women since 2015, along with many other elite women\u2019s colleges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The school\u2019s admission policies drew attention and sparked on-campus activism in 2013, when a trans high school senior was denied acceptance because her gender identity did not match the one on her financial aid forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its website now says that \u201cany applicants who self-identify as women; cis, trans, and nonbinary women\u201d are eligible to apply to the school. Advocates have supported the shift over the years, saying that women\u2019s colleges were founded to educate those marginalized because of their gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of women\u2019s colleges in the U.S. has declined from more than 200 to just 30 as of fall of 2023, according to the Women\u2019s College Coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A college spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Department of Education in a news release, Title IX contains an exception that allows colleges to be all-male or all-female, but it only applies \u201con the basis of biological sex difference, not subjective gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation into Smith College stems from a complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights in June 2025 by the conservative legal group Defending Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDE and its members oppose, among other things, discrimination on the basis of sex in America\u2019s K-12 schools and institutions of higher education,\u201d the organization said in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the Biden administration, new Title IX regulations were issued to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, those were struck down by a federal judge in January 2025 who decided the rules had legal shortcomings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n