Department of Education opens investigation into Smith College for admitting trans women

Source: CNN US

PUBLISHED May 4, 2026, 7:07 PM ET


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.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/04/us/smith-college-title-ix-trans-students

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As a note, my alma mater is UMASS/Amherst and Smith is part of the area's "5-College Consortium" with UMASS, that also includes Mt. Holyoke, Amherst College, and Hampshire College (the latter school due to close down this year). So there is a lot of interaction between the schools for courses, student activities, and of course parties.

Smith has always been a strong incubator for feminism and feminists, as well as LGBT+ individuals WAY before it was an open and celebrated "thing", and boasts grads like Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and current Senator Tammy Baldwin (who, as I looked it up, was at Smith during part of the time when I was at UMASS ). It was also part of what was dubbed the "7 sisters" - elite women's colleges that existed during a certain era although some like Radcliffe eventually folded in with the (one-time) "all-male" counterparts (in their case - Harvard) or became co-ed.