All-women’s school Wellesley College responds to allegations of accepting male biology students
A Title IX complaint filed with the US Department of Education accused Wellesley College, an all-women’s college in Massachusetts, of accepting transgender biological students.
The college responded to the allegations in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
“Wellesley is proud to be a women’s college that has educated women who are making a difference in the world for 150 years. We remain committed to our mission, and we believe our policies are consistent with human rights law,” the statement read.
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A transgender flag is painted in chalk on the campus of Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. March 15. Poll at Wellesley College supports acceptance of transgender men, but administration disagrees. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe)
The complaint was filed by the national non-profit group Defending Education, and pointed to the college’s policy of admitting “any applicant who lives as a woman and always identifies as a woman.”
Defending Education’s complaint, filed June 25 with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, alleges that Wellesley discriminates on the basis of sex in federally funded programs or activities, in violation of Title IX. The complaint says the school’s policy undermines its status as a women’s college by allowing naturalized men who identify as women to enroll.
Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal partner at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital that Wellesley’s policy is not new.
“Actually, they started that policy in 2015, so this is nothing new,” Perry said. “We know they accept natural men who identify as women. They clearly state that acceptance policy on their website.”
The complaint says Wellesley revised its admissions policy in 2015 “to make anyone who identifies and lives as a woman — including trans and non-binary people — eligible for admission.” It also cites Wellesley materials that say the college recognizes that the gender of some students may “come out” during enrollment.
In its 2024 gender policy, filed as an exhibit in the complaint, Wellesley says “it is a women’s college and always has been” and that every aspect of its academic program is designed to serve women. The same policy states that the college will consider applicants who identify as female and will continue to use female pronouns and other gendered language in institutional communications.
The complaint also cites US News data that says Wellesley’s student body was 1.7% male and 98.3% female in the fall of 2024, while arguing that the college continues to hold itself as an all-female institution.
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Perry said Defending Education does not know how many male biology students have been accepted under this policy.
“We couldn’t find admissions records of how many were actually admitted over the years,” said Perry.
The complaint does not focus only on the reception of people, but also on the institutions. Defending Education says that because Wellesley’s dorms have public bathrooms, admissions and housing for naturalized male students “effectively eliminated intimate women-only spaces” in those dorms.
Perry argued that Wellesley’s acceptance of federal funds subjects the college to Title IX requirements.
“Wellesley is not required to accept state funding,” Perry said. “They accepted about $5.5 million in fiscal year 2025. They accepted $12 million in fiscal year 2024. That’s money they have the right to raise, but when they do, they appear to be following the law of the civil rights movement.”
He added that, in Defending Education’s view, Title IX’s reference to sex cannot be interpreted as gender identity.
“Nowhere in the long text or in history or in implementing regulations or the Congressional Record does it make clear that gender is the same as gender identity,” Perry said. “They are two distinctly different things.”
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Protesters wave pride flags outside the Supreme Court in Washington as it hears arguments on state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school sports teams on Jan. 13, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
The complaint asks the Office for Civil Rights to investigate Wellesley, require the college to correct what Defending Education calls illegal policies and practices, and order appropriate relief.
“If Wellesley really wants to be a women’s college,” Perry said, “they’re going to keep the protections for natural women, full stop.”
