WASHINGTON, D.C.: An investigation was launched this week by the U.S. Department of Education into Smith College, an all-women's institution in Massachusetts, after it reportedly admitted transgender women.
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is investigating whether the college violated Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.
This is the latest step by the Trump administration, which has often criticized transgender rights, to limit those rights in the U.S. The administration argues that Title IX does not allow transgender women to compete in women's sports and has taken legal action against some states and schools that disagree.
Smith College, a private liberal arts college founded in 1871, has allowed transgender women to enroll since 2015, like many other women's colleges.
Its policy became widely discussed in 2013 when a transgender high school student was denied admission because her gender identity did not match the one on her financial aid forms, leading to protests on campus.
The college now says that anyone who identifies as a woman, including cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary women, can apply. Supporters say this change fits the original goal of women's colleges, which was to educate people who faced discrimination because of their gender.
The number of women's colleges in the U.S. has dropped from over 200 to about 30 by fall 2023, according to the Women's College Coalition.
A spokesperson for the college did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Education said that while Title IX allows colleges to be only for men or only for women, this applies based on biological sex, not gender identity.
The investigation started after a complaint was filed in June 2025 by a conservative legal group called Defending Education, which says it opposes sex-based discrimination in schools and colleges.
During the Biden administration, new Title IX rules were introduced to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, a federal judge struck down these rules in January 2025, saying they had legal problems.
