UW Under Investigation Over Transgender Member Joining Sorority

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday that it is investigating the University of Wyoming over the induction of a transgender person into a sorority

The Sorority in question is the Gamma Omicron chapter of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.

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Sorority members in 2022 voted to allow a transgender person  to join the organization. The Department of Education said the investigation was prompted because UW "allowed a man" to join the sorority.

Independent Women's Law Center: Universities Must Be Accountable

The announcement of the investigation drew applause from Beth Parlato, senior legal advisor for the Independent Women's Law Center:

'We support the Department of Education’s decision to open an investigation into the University of Wyoming. It is essential that all institutions of higher learning uphold transparency and ensure their policies align with federal law, particularly as they relate to Title IX and student rights. Women deserve single-sex spaces where their privacy and safety are respected, and universities must be held accountable when those protections are compromised. This investigation is a necessary step to ensure that federal policies meant to protect women are being properly enforced and not undermined in the name of political ideology."

University Of Wyoming: We Don't Control Sorority Membership Decisions

But University of Wyoming spokesman Chad Baldwin gave Townsquare Media a statement that includes the following :

''The university’s position has been that it doesn’t control decisions about sorority and fraternity membership. Appropriately, the university has not been a participant in litigation in federal court regarding the legality of the sorority’s decision to admit the transgender student. University Regulation 11-4 specifically states that the university “does not control or accept responsibility for the activities nor endorse the programs of student organizations,” including sororities and fraternities.''

Baldwin went on to say that the investigation in itself is not evidence that UW violated federal civil rights laws. He added that the university will "fully cooperate with the investigation and will work with the Office for Civil Rights to come into compliance if needed."

The Department of Education says "A school receiving federal funding that supports, sponsors, or promotes a sorority or fraternity, must meet its obligations under Title IX to protect its students from sex-based harassment and sexual assault, regardless of the sorority or fraternity’s policy."

The investigation was announced in a Department of Education release recognizing June as Title IX Month. You can read the release here.