The U.S. Education Dept. Probes Smith College Over Transgender Policy's Office for Civil Rights opened a Title IX investigation into Smith College on Monday for its policy of admitting transgender women and granting them access to women-only spaces.

The probe examines whether the Northampton, Massachusetts, institution violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded programs. The department alleges that Smith discriminates against biological females by allowing biological males access to dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams.

"An all-women’s college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. "Allowing biological males into spaces designed for women raises serious concerns about privacy, fairness, and compliance under federal law. The Trump Administration will continue to uphold the law and fight to restore common sense."

Title IX includes exceptions for single-sex institutions, but the Department of Education maintains these apply based on biological sex, not gender identity. Enrolling males who identify as female would disqualify Smith from single-sex status under the law, the agency said.

The investigation follows a June 20, 2025, complaint filed by Defending Education, a conservative nonprofit. The group alleged that Smith's admissions policy, which states "people who identify as women, cis, trans, and nonbinary women, are eligible to apply," discriminates against biological women by displacing them in admissions and facilities. It also criticized all-gender restrooms and locker rooms, trans-affirming healthcare, and a bias response team that addresses gender identity complaints.

Smith adopted its current policy in 2015 after controversy over denying admission to a transgender applicant in 2013. The college, founded in 1875 as one of the Seven Sisters women's colleges, now bases eligibility on self-identification.

Smith College told CNN it "is fully committed to its institutional values, including compliance with civil rights laws" and does not comment on pending investigations. The college provides trans-affirming care, peer support, and all-gender facilities while supporting enrolled trans male students.

Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president at Defending Education, said Smith's policies make "a mockery of the 'all-women' institution." She noted the college admits trans women but not trans men, calling it further sex discrimination.

The action aligns with Trump administration efforts to define sex biologically in Title IX enforcement, reversing prior interpretations that extended protections to gender identity. Similar probes target schools allowing transgender athletes or mixed-sex facilities.

No timeline for the investigation's resolution has been announced.