Federal investigation into Smith College probes whether transgender students can attend women’s schools – challenging the evolving mission of women’s education

The Smith College campus in Northampton, Mass., in October 2025. Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Within the past decade, most women’s colleges in the United States – including Smith College, a liberal arts college in Northampton, Massachusetts – have expanded their admissions policies, allowing transgender students to also attend. Many of these policies allow transgender women to apply, while policies for transgender men and nonbinary students vary more widely.

The Trump administration announced on May 4, 2026, that it is investigating Smith College for violating Title IX, a law that prohibits discrimination based on someone’s sex.