NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (LifeSiteNews) — An elite all-women’s school has been accused by a conservative education watchdog of discriminating against actual, non-gender-confused women in its admissions and campus policies, triggering a federal civil rights investigation.
On June 20, Defending Education filed a formal Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, saying that Smith College’s self-declared “inclusive” admissions rules – allowing applications from men who “identify” as women or “nonbinary,” but excluding women who identify as men – violate federal protections against sex-based discrimination.
The result, Defending Education states, is that males can gain access to the women’s college, while some females are barred – solely based on their declared “gender identity.”
Title I of the Education Amendments of 1972 exists to “protec[t] biological women in education,” Defending Education noted. It bars sex-based discrimination in federally funded education, including admissions, locker rooms, athletics, and other single-sex programs. This also includes admissions to single-sex institutions.
The group criticizes the college’s policies for effectively redefining womanhood by prioritizing “gender identity” over sex. Smith, a recipient of federal funds, is subject to Title IX requirements mandating equal educational access and protections on the basis of sex.
Smith College, based in Northampton, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest and most prominent women’s colleges in the U.S. It currently enrolls over 2,000 undergraduate students.
Smith’s current policy allows applicants who “identify as women, cis, trans, and nonbinary” to apply, based solely on self-identification, without legal or medical verification. At the same time, females who “identify” as men are ineligible – an exclusion Defending Education says constitutes “sex discrimination.”
Beyond admissions, the complaint challenges the college’s broader campus policies, including its widespread implementation of “all-gender” restrooms and locker rooms and its promotion of “trans-affirming care” – including cross-sex hormones – through the school’s Health and Wellness Center.
Defending Education has demanded the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights investigate and remedy the situation. If the department finds Smith in violation, the school could face demands for policy changes.
In a recent ruling, the Office for Civil Rights ordered California to reinstate female athletic records previously awarded to male athletes, warning the state it could face Justice Department intervention if it failed to comply.
