Overview
- Federal civil rights investigators, in a move announced Monday, opened a case to examine whether Smith violates Title IX by admitting transgender women and allowing access to women-only dorms, bathrooms, locker rooms, and teams.
- The Office for Civil Rights launched the investigation after a June 2025 complaint from Defending Education and says it is in a fact-finding phase with no determination yet.
- Smith’s policy, in place since 2015, considers for admission any applicants who self-identify as women, a group the college defines to include cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary women.
- Education officials argue the law’s single-sex exception is based on biological sex rather than gender identity, a stance aligned with other Trump-era actions limiting transgender participation in school sports and facilities.
- Smith acknowledged receiving notice and declined further comment, while LGBTQ advocates call the move government overreach and right-leaning outlets hail stricter enforcement, highlighting a sharp divide with real consequences for trans students’ sense of safety and belonging.