A Washington, D.C.-based conservative nonprofit has filed a federal complaint accusing Bryn Mawr College of violating civil rights law by admitting transgender women.

The Defense of Freedom Institute (DFI) filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education on Sept. 11, alleging Bryn Mawr violates both Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The filing asks the department to investigate and warns that "failure to comply will result in the limitation, suspension, or termination of federal funding."

The complaint was one of four DFI filed simultaneously against women's colleges. Agnes Scott College, Stephens College and Wesleyan College also received complaints, The Federalist first reported on Sept. 14.

No investigation has been opened against Bryn Mawr. The complaint is pending review by the department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Federal Student Aid.

What the complaint alleges

DFI's Title IX argument centers on shared living spaces. The complaint states that Bryn Mawr's dormitories have shared bathrooms on every floor and that the college's locker room policy reserves the women's locker room "for use by those who identify themselves as female." DFI alleges this arrangement deprives female students of equal opportunity to participate in the college's programs.

The Title IV argument targets Bryn Mawr's marketing. DFI contends the college engages in "substantial misrepresentation" by advertising itself as a women's college while admitting transgender women, misleading prospective students who may take on federal student loan debt based on that description.

Robert Eitel, DFI's president and co-founder, told The Federalist in September that the targeted schools had sacrificed their identity as women's institutions in pursuit of gender-identity policies.

Title IX may not cover private colleges

The Trump administration rescinded Biden-era Title IX protections for gender identity in April, limiting the law's scope to biological sex. That policy shift set the stage for complaints like DFI's.

But legal scholars have noted a gap in the Title IX theory. The law applies to admissions decisions only at vocational, professional and graduate institutions, and at public undergraduate colleges. Private undergraduate colleges like Bryn Mawr are not on that list, according to an analysis by The Conversation published after a similar complaint triggered a federal investigation into Smith College.

The Department of Education announced that Smith investigation on May 4. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said at the time that "an all-women's college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males," as reported by Inside Higher Ed. The Smith complaint was filed by Defending Education, a separate conservative nonprofit.

Bryn Mawr responds

Bryn Mawr adopted its transgender admissions policy on Feb. 9, 2015, becoming the fifth women's college in the country to admit transgender women and intersex individuals who do not identify as male, according to the DFI complaint.

In response to the filing, the college said it remains committed to women's education, gender equity and supporting all students who pursue studies in line with its mission, according to The Bi-College News. The college said it will continue advancing a culture where every community member is valued and included.

President Wendy Cadge has not commented publicly on the complaint. No timeline for a Department of Education response has been announced.