Department of Education opens investigation into Smith College for admitting trans womenhttps://www.cnn.com/2026/05/04/us/smith-college-title-ix-trans-students 🔗CNN - Zoe Sottile
May 4, 2026
Massachusetts, USA
In the Trump administration's latest move to limit trans rights, the Department of Education has launched a Title IX investigation into Smith College, an all-women's college in western Massachusetts, for admitting trans women.
Like most other women's colleges in the US, Smith, a small liberal arts college, admits trans women. The 155-year-old school says it "is a women's college and considers for admission any applicants who self-identify as women; cis, trans, and nonbinary women are eligible to apply to Smith."
In a Monday statement, the Department of Education said it was investigating Smith for "admitting biological men and granting them access to women-only spaces, including dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams."
The term "biological men," though often used by opponents of trans rights to describe trans women, is not commonly used by trans people.
Smith College told CNN it "is fully committed to its institutional values, including compliance with civil rights laws" and "does not comment on pending government investigations."
The administration is "seeking to destroy every single safe place for transgender young people in this country."--------------------------------
The investigation was opened in response to a civil rights complaint filed by Defending Education, a conservative nonprofit whose stated mission is to protect schools from "activists imposing harmful agendas."
Nicholas Hite, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization focused on LGBTQ rights, said it was notable that the complaint didn't originate with anyone at Smith College.
