A Title IX complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education has accused Wellesley College, an all-women’s college in Massachusetts, of admitting biological male transgender students.
The college has responded to the allegations in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Wellesley is proud to be a women’s college that has been educating women who make a difference in the world for 150 years. We remain committed to our mission, and believe that our policies comply with civil rights law,” the statement read.
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The complaint was filed by the national grassroots nonprofit conservative group Defending Education, and pointed to the college’s policy that considers for admission “any applicant who lives as a woman and consistently identifies as a woman.”
Defending Education’s complaint, filed June 25 with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, alleges that Wellesley is discriminating on the basis of sex in programs or activities that receive federal funding, in violation of Title IX. The complaint argues that the school’s policy undermines its status as a women’s college by allowing biological males who identify as women to enroll.
Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and senior legal fellow at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital that Wellesley’s policy is not new.
“In fact, they started that policy back in 2015, so this is absolutely nothing new,” Perry said. “We know they are admitting biological males who identify as female. They make very clear that policy of admission on its website.”
The complaint says Wellesley updated its admissions policy in 2015 “to make anyone who identifies and lives as a woman — including trans and nonbinary people — eligible for admission.” It also cites Wellesley materials saying the college recognized that some students’ gender identities “could evolve” while they are enrolled.
In its 2024 Gender Policy, included as an exhibit in the complaint, Wellesley states that it “is, and always has been, a women’s college” and that every aspect of its educational program is designed to serve women. The same policy says the college will consider applicants who live and identify as women and will continue using female pronouns and other gendered language in institutional communications.
The complaint also cites U.S. News data claiming Wellesley’s student body was 1.7% male and 98.3% female in fall 2024, while arguing that the college continues to hold itself out as an all-female institution.
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Perry said Defending Education has not determined how many biological male students have been admitted under the policy.
“We have not been able to find admission records for exactly how many have been admitted over the years,” Perry said.
The complaint focuses not only on admissions, but also on campus facilities. Defending Education alleges that because Wellesley dorms feature communal bathrooms, the admission and housing of biological male students has “effectively eliminated female-only intimate spaces” in those dorms.
Perry argued that Wellesley’s receipt of federal funding subjects the college to Title IX requirements.
“Wellesley doesn’t have to accept federal funding,” Perry said. “They accepted about $5.5 million in fiscal year 2025. They accepted $12 million in fiscal year 2024. That’s money that they’re certainly entitled to turn their nose up at, but once they do, they are beholden to follow federal civil rights law.”
She added that, in Defending Education’s view, Title IX’s reference to sex cannot be interpreted as gender identity.
“Nowhere in the longstanding text or history or implementing regulations or Congressional Record does it make clear that sex is the same as gender identity,” Perry said. “They are two distinctly different things.”
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The complaint asks the Office for Civil Rights to investigate Wellesley, require the college to remedy what Defending Education calls unlawful policies and practices, and order appropriate relief.
“If Wellesley really wants to be a women’s college,” Perry said, “they are going to maintain protections for biological women, full stop.”
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