The Trump administration has launched an investigation into a progressive women’s college in Massachusetts over its policy of admitting transgender students. This scrutiny is focused on Smith College, a well-regarded liberal arts institution located in Northampton, about two hours west of Boston, and home to approximately 2,500 students.
The U.S. Department of Education announced the investigation on Monday, indicating that its Office for Civil Rights will examine whether Smith College has violated Title IX. This federal law prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational institutions and is central to the investigation.
According to the Department of Education, Smith College might be breaching Title IX because the law’s exemption for single-sex colleges is based on “biological sex difference, not subjective gender identity.” This interpretation suggests that the college’s inclusion of transgender students could be at odds with federal regulations.
Kimberly Richey, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, expressed concerns by stating, “An all-women’s college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males.” She emphasized that the presence of biological males in women-focused environments raises significant issues concerning privacy, fairness, and adherence to federal law.
Furthermore, Richey assured that the Trump administration is committed to “upholding the law and fighting to restore common sense” in educational practices, reflecting a broader policy stance on gender and education during its tenure.
Richey added that the Trump administration would ‘continue to uphold the law and fight to restore common sense.’
Smith’s website currently notes that ‘cis, trans, and nonbinary women are eligible to apply’ for admission, and that hormone therapy is provided on campus.
The college began admitting transgender women in 2015, two years after facing backlash for refusing to admit a high school senior whose gender identity did not match what was listed on her financial aid form.
New graduates leave the Quad following commencement ceremonies at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts in 2017
The Trump administration announced Monday that it was investigating Smith College, a liberal arts school with about 2,500 students, over its admission of transgender students
The Department of Education said Monday it was investigating Smith College over potential Title IX violations
The Department of Education claimed Smith was ‘admitting biological men and granting them access to women-only spaces, including dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams.’
‘When an institution holds itself out as being an all-women’s college, it is not just promising to deliver female-only dorms and bathrooms, and single-sex athletics; it is also committing to maintain a student body that makes possible a particular form of sorority and camaraderie,’ the agency said.
Smith began clearly including transgender students in its admission policies in 2015.
That decision came two years after Smith denied admission to Calliope Wong, who identified as a transgender woman, in 2013.
Smith’s decision sparked a series of on-campus protests across women’s colleges.
Wong ultimately enrolled at and graduated early from the University of Connecticut before taking her life in 2021, according to UConn Magazine.
It is unclear how many transgender students are currently enrolled at Smith.
On its website, the liberal arts school notes that it is ‘actively working to expand support for transgender students.’
Smith also provides ‘trans-affirming primary care,’ including hormone therapy, on campus at the Schacht Center for Health and Wellness.
Additionally, every single-occupancy restroom on campus is designated as all-gender, according to school.
There is also an all-gender locker room in the athletic facilities that includes private showering and changing areas.
Smith began admitting transgender women in 2015, two years after denying admission to Calliope Wong (pictured), who identified as a trans woman
The Department of Education said that ‘allowing biological males into spaces designed for women raises serious concerns about privacy, fairness, and compliance under federal law’
The investigation into Smith was opened in response to a civil rights complaint filed by Defending Education, a conservative nonprofit whose stated mission is ‘working to restore schools at all levels from activists imposing harmful agendas.’
The original complaint claimed the college ‘threatens to investigate and/or punish students who disagree with the college’s unlawful policies on gender identity and sex.’
Defending Education’s president, Nicole Neily, said she was ‘gratified’ that the Trump administration was looking into Smith.
‘I believe very strongly in the importance of single-sex spaces, be it a boys camp or an all-women’s college,’ Neily told Politico.
She added that ‘how Smith College has been addressing the issue of gender, to me, is very troubling.’
‘It sends a very mixed message that natal males who identify as female are allowed to attend, but biological girls who identify as boys are not,’ Neily said.
A spokesperson for Smith College confirmed the Department of Education’s probe but said the school would not comment on pending government investigations.
‘The College is fully committed to its institutional values, including compliance with civil rights laws,’ Smith’s spokesperson told the outlet.
The Schacht Center for Health and Wellness (pictured) provides hormone therapy and other forms of ‘trans-affirming primary care,’ according to Smith’s website
Smith’s website notes the school is ‘actively working to expand support for transgender students’
The college said it was ‘fully committed to its institutional values, including compliance with civil rights laws’ (Photo of Sarah Willie-LeBreton, the president of Smith College)
About 4.7 percent of undergraduate college students identify as transgender, according to the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine.
Research indicated that figure dipped to roughly 2.7 percent within graduate ranks, likely because the students are older.
The Trump administration has previously looked into other colleges around the country for transgender-related matters.
In January, the Department of Education announced that San Jose State University violated Title IX by ‘allowing males to compete in women’s sports and access female-only facilities deny women equal educational opportunities and benefits.’
Two months later, the agency said the university had not signed a proposed resolution agreement and had ‘taken no other action to ensure the safety of its female students.’
Last March, $175million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania was frozen ‘over its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports,’ according to the White House’s Rapid Response X account.
That decision came one month after Trump signed an executive order called, ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Department of Education and Smith College for further comment.
