The U.S. Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into Smith College, alleging the school violated federal anti-discrimination rules by admitting transgender women and providing them access to women’s intimate spaces. Education’s Office for Civil Rights framed Smith’s admissions practice as potentially allowing “biological males” into dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletics. Smith, a private all-women’s college, said it has considered applications from students who self-identify as women since 2015 and declined to comment on the pending probe. The investigation lands as Trump administration policy efforts tighten federal scrutiny of campus admissions and student access, but legal experts warn outcomes will hinge on how Title IX is interpreted for private undergraduate admissions and how schools manage federal funding compliance.