Trump administration opens probe into all-women Smith College for admitting biological males
by Valerie Richardson · The Washington TimesOne of the nation’s best-known women’s colleges is under a federal civil-rights investigation for admitting biological males and allowing them access to female dormitories, restrooms, locker rooms and athletic teams.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is reviewing whether Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, is violating Title IX by “allowing biological males into women’s intimate spaces.”
Founded in 1875 as an all-women’s institution, Smith announced in 2015 that it would begin accepting students who self-identify as female regardless of their biological sex.
“An all-women’s college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey in a Monday 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.”
Last year, Defending Education filed a complaint with the department alleging that Smith has violated Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funding.
“At the same time, Title IX also protects single-sex spaces: for example, female students are entitled to sex-segregated intimate spaces, single-sex membership in sororities, single-sex athletic teams, and single-sex admissions where an institution has held itself out to be single-sex and provides substantially equivalent educational opportunities,” said the conservative group in a statement last June.
Smith’s admissions policy on “Gender Identity and Expression” includes the following provision: “People who identify as women — cis, trans and nonbinary women — are eligible to apply to Smith,” according to the complaint.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.