Western Carolina University faces a federal investigation after the U.S. Department of Education accused the school of not following the Trump administration's executive order to not recognize transgender women. 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said the university is violating Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

The university is accused of violating the federal law as it relates to ensuring sex-separated intimate spaces in federally funded institutions of higher education, according to a release from the Department of Education.

Allegations against the university include a 2024 incident when Payton McNabb, a former Western Carolina University student, said she was investigated by the university after taking a video of herself asking a male student to leave a women’s bathroom.

“Western Carolina University has perpetrated a policy that is not in full compliance with Title IX. The violation has impacted not only me but many other female students at the university that deserve our rights to single-sex spaces,” McNabb said in a release. 

“In addition to my experience discovering a male in the women’s restroom on campus, men who self-identify as transgender are entering other women’s intimate spaces like restrooms, dorm rooms and locker rooms. Female college students will not sit idly by as men take over our spaces. I’m thankful to have an administration that will stand up for us,” she said.

The investigation concluded with the university determining McNabb acted politely but maintaining it would not change its policies to comply with Title IX, the release said.

The university said it follows Title IX rules. 

“Western Carolina University is compliant with all current state and federal regulations and will continue to adjust any necessary campus policies and practices to remain in compliance with future changes,” the university said in a brief statement.

“WCU’s reported contempt for federal antidiscrimination laws and indifference to, and retaliation against, girls who have spoken up about males invading their intimate spaces is simply unacceptable,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor.

“After fighting for years to secure Title IX protections, women must again fight hostile institutions to ensure their right to equal protection and opportunity in sports, living spaces, and intimate facilities is respected. The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will continue to deploy every lawful means to eradicate this wholly unnecessary and egregious violation of women and girls’ civil rights," he said.

The department said other allegations against the university and its compliance with Title IX include a female student who left her dormitory after being assigned a roommate with a male student claiming a female identity.