Exclusive: Four Women’s Colleges Are Fleecing Federal Programs By Admitting ‘Trans’ Men

Four historic women’s colleges allow men who claim to be women to be admitted into their schools, making “substantial misrepresentation[s]” to the public about their programs while taking federal taxpayer funds and violating Title IX, according to four complaints filed with the Department of Education. The complaints filed by the Defense of Freedom Institute (DFI), obtained by The Federalist, detail to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) how the schools — Agnes Scott College, Bryn Mawr College, Stephens College, and Wesleyan College — each allow any male who claims to be a woman to attend, while still maintaining their status as a women’s only college. “For decades, each of these schools carefully crafted an identity as an institution exclusively dedicated to the education of women,” Robert Eitel, President and Co-Founder of DFI, told The Federalist. “No doubt to the shock of many alumnae, donors, and students, these schools have willingly sacrificed this unique identity on the altar of gender identity.” According to the complaints, the Department of Education bars institutions from making “substantial misrepresentations” about themselves that a prospective student could rely upon in making a significant life decision like deciding to enroll and taking on federal student loan debt. “Applicants and their families rely on this information to make consequential life decisions, including taking on federal student loan debt,” DFI stated. “Yet, inexplicably, each school permits men to apply, enroll, and participate fully in campus life, including sharing housing, intimate facilities, and sports teams.” DFI says the schools are each in violation of Title VI of the Higher Education Act and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, particularly because Title IX “protects single-sex spaces.” The group is asking the OCR to investigate the schools’ apparent violations, but “beyond the OCR process — to ensure that institutions come into compliance with all federal requirements, if they wish to benefit from taxpayer funds.” “Place the College on clear notice that failure to comply will result in the limitation, suspension, or termination of federal funding,” the DFI letters state. Each school has their own language that allows men claiming to be women into the schools, and some policies are even less coherent than others. Agnes Scott, for example, states that it “admits students who were assigned female at birth as well as those who were assigned male or female at birth who now identify as female, transgender, agender, genderfluid, or non-binary.” However, the school says that it is also “proud of the women, trans women, trans men and non-binary individuals who have enrolled and graduated from Agnes Scott,” meaning it understands that “trans men” are actually women claiming to be men, while also claiming that “trans women” are actually women, despite the fact that they are men. Men who wish to apply, but whose legal documents still refer to them as men, are encouraged to “contact the Office of Admission to discuss their self-identification and receive further clarification of policies and information regarding the resources available on campus.” Bryn Mawr is slightly less convoluted than Agnes Scott when it comes to women who claim to be men, at least on paper, but still “considers as eligible to apply to the undergraduate college all individuals who have identified and continue to identify as women (including cisgender and trans women), intersex individuals who do not identify as male, individuals assigned female at birth who have not taken medical or legal steps to identify as male, and individuals assigned female at birth who do not identify within the gender binary.” The school says it “acknowledges gender complexity as an opportunity for learning” and says that “that students may express new gender identities while at Bryn Mawr and beyond.” However, the school does not have separate restrooms or other facilities like dorms for men and women, despite admitting both, in violation of Title IX, the complaint states. “As amatter of policy, biological women must use the same intimate and living spaces as individuals of the opposite sex,” the complaint states. The school also appears to threaten students who do not agree with gender ideology by claiming criticism is both sexual misconduct and discriminatory. “If a student expresses a desire to not use the same bathroom or locker room as a member of the opposite sex, she could be subject, under the policy, to dismissal or expulsion from the College; suspension from the College; loss of campus housing or other privileges; withholding of diploma and/or transcripts; disciplinary probation; or ‘other Sanctions as deemed appropriate.'” Stephens College makes similar threats to enforce its adherence to gender ideology. The school states that “The world’s understanding of and definition of womanhood is changing” and that it “expanded its definition of womanhood to include both sex and gender.” The admissions policy is a full-throated defense of the idea that men can become women, stating, “enrollment in our undergraduate residential women’s college is restricted exclusively to women, including students who are legally identified as female and who self-identify as women; students who document an ongoing transition to female and who self-identify as women; and students who are legally identified as female but do not fit within the gender binary. The program will not admit or enroll students who self-identify as men or who are transitioning to male.” Wesleyan also warns students who do not want to be forced into intimate spaces with men, and also says that it will allow any male claiming to be female into the school and “will support all students regardless of changes in their gender identity and/or gender expression” during their time at the school. “Consistent with our values of respect for diversity among people, religions, and cultures, Wesleyan will consider for admission all applicants who live and identify as women, regardless of biological sex, or who were assigned female at birth and identify as nonbinary or gender non-conforming if they feel they belong at a women’s college,” Wesleyan’s policy states. According to DFI, many women’s schools started allowing “transgender” men admission after 2014, when the Obama administration’s OCR shoehorned non-discrimination language for “transgender” students into guidance, as opposed to actual regulatory rulemaking. Mills College became the first women’s school to formally allow men claiming to be women. Then came Simmons College, Mount Holyoke College, Wellesley College, Bryn Mawr, and Agnes Scott in the first five months of 2015. Stephens College changed its policy in 2018. Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies. Agnes ScottBryn Mawrfederal student loansStephens CollegeTitle IXtransgenderWesleyan CollegeWomen's colleges