1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

Stop the Department of Education's investigation into Smith College immediately. This is government overreach targeting a private institution that has welcomed transgender women since 2015. Smith College is a women's college admitting women. The school's policy affirms its mission to represent the diversity of women's lived experiences. The Trump administration's May 4 investigation threatens to strip federal funding from a college simply for recognizing that transgender women are women. This isn't protecting anyone. It's using Title IX as a weapon to exclude and discriminate. The Biden administration correctly interpreted Title IX in 2022 to protect students from discrimination based on gender identity. Rescinding that protection doesn't change the lived reality of transgender students who belong in spaces that match their gender. Smith's students, faculty, and administration support this policy because it's the right thing to do. We have real problems to solve: crumbling school infrastructure, teacher shortages, student debt. Instead, the Department of Education is spending time and resources investigating whether women's colleges are admitting the right kind of women. This is harassment dressed up as civil rights enforcement. Defend Smith College's right to determine its own admissions policy and redirect federal resources toward actual education priorities.