Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into Smith College over its transgender admissions policy

On May 4, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened a Title IX investigation into Smith College, a private all-women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, over its policy of admitting transgender women. The Department characterized the policy as "admitting men" and said it would examine whether enrolling students it described as biological males while maintaining single-sex status violates federal law governing sex discrimination in federally funded education programs.

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said "an all-women's college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males," raising concerns about "privacy, fairness, and compliance under federal law." The Department argued that Title IX's exception permitting single-sex institutions "applies on the basis of biological sex difference, not subjective gender identity," and contended that admitting students who assert a female identity would disqualify the college from maintaining single-sex status under the statute.

The Smith College probe extended a coordinated pattern of federal Title IX and Title VI investigations opened against schools and colleges over trans-inclusive and diversity policies. Title IX, enacted in 1972, prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs; prior federal guidance interpreted it to protect transgender students, an interpretation the current administration has reversed. Because a Title IX violation can result in termination of federal funding, opening the investigation applies financial pressure to reshape a private institution's admissions policy through enforcement rather than legislation.