As part of the agreement with the federal government, Brown committed to taking steps to ensure continued compliance with Title IX (the civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance) and ensure that all students have access to safe and equitable opportunities and spaces. The agreement includes "male" and "female" designations for women’s athletics and on-campus student housing, as well as provisions on gender-affirming care for minors. Specific provisions include:

• Brown continues to abide by NCAA eligibility rules and to comply with Title IX. The NCAA’s Participation Policy for Transgender Student-Athletes was last updated in February 2025 and details current eligibility criteria regarding the participation of trans athletes in intercollegiate sports. The agreement includes “male” and “female” designations for women’s intercollegiate athletics, building upon NCAA requirements.
• We committed that the University will continue to provide housing and restroom access in a way that allows students to select their preferred option, whether single-sex or gender-inclusive. Consistent with our existing practice, first-year student housing assignments will continue to be based on sex assigned at birth, with the ability for students to opt into gender-inclusive housing as they wish.
• We committed that the University “will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child’s appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex." The University has few minor children — i.e., individuals under the age of 18 — enrolled in any given academic year, and Brown Student Health Services does not have surgical facilities. And because puberty blockers are typically prescribed for pre-pubescent individuals, Brown Student Health Services likewise does not typically prescribe such medication in the pre-pubescent population. Prescriptions for hormones for minors will continue to be provided by external medical providers. The University will refer to area specialists those affected students who are minors who seek care from Student Health Services.

We are committed to complying with the federal agreement while also preserving Brown’s unwavering commitment to inclusion for our community members of all genders. In on-campus student housing, the agreement has prompted the University to expand its housing options at the same time that we maintain gender-inclusive practices. We are continuing to provide single-sex housing and single-sex floors with bathrooms reserved for the students assigned to those single-sex floors. Student-athlete facilities, including locker rooms, are restricted to team members and are separated by sex.  

For academic and administrative buildings across campus, we are maintaining our gender-inclusive practices. In those buildings, facilities with signage indicating use for women can be used by all individuals who identify as women; facilities with signage indicated for men can be used by all individuals who identify as men; and facilities that do not indicate a gender or have gender-inclusive signage can be used by any individual, regardless of gender. At the same time, we continue to offer single-sex options for members of our community who prefer them.  

Here is an overview of our approach: 

• Expanded options for single-sex facilities: In compliance with the federal agreement, we are adding options to our existing practices for those who prefer facilities that are shared only by individuals who were assigned the same sex at birth, including single-occupancy restrooms. This is in addition to the existing options Brown provided before the agreement.
• Expanded options for single-gender facilities: We are adding options for those who prefer facilities that are shared only by individuals with a shared gender identity. Individuals who prefer to occupy a restroom or bathroom that will not be occupied by others continue to have access to Brown’s many single-occupancy restrooms and bathrooms.

Continued options for gender-inclusive facilities: Regardless of gender, all community members continue to have access to the many gender-inclusive resources throughout campus, including single-gender and mixed-gender bathrooms, restrooms, and student housing options. Nothing is changing about Brown’s approach to how these facilities are used. 

No. The agreement explicitly specifies the contexts in which Brown must apply these definitions by using the language “for the purposes of” to denote the facilities and activities where the government’s “male” and “female” definitions apply. As part of our commitment to comply with the agreement, we are expanding options for the use of various facilities to ensure we offer single-sex options based on sex assigned at birth, in addition to existing gender-inclusive options. The exception is for athletics, where the agreement — building on NCAA rules and consistent with federal executive orders — imposes prohibitions for women’s athletics and associated student-athlete facilities. The agreement requires Brown to provide single-sex athletic opportunities — as well as associated changing, showering and other facilities – to female student-athletes, using the definitions of “male” and “female” reflected in Executive Orders 14168 and 14201.

Per NCAA rules and consistent with the resolution agreement, student-athletes compete on teams based on sex designated at birth (team locker rooms are available only to team members and are separated by sex). Locker rooms in recreational facilities are gender-inclusive, so trans and nonbinary individuals can access the locker room that aligns with their gender identity, while a single-occupancy changing and showering facility will be available to a community member who seeks a single-sex option.  

The agreement does not address Brown's ability to continue to implement gender-inclusive measures on campus or to welcome and support our trans or nonbinary community members, including by providing gender-inclusive housing and restrooms and the ability to specify personal gender pronouns and chosen names in University data systems. As noted in other responses in this FAQ, the agreement requires Brown to make female-only housing, restrooms, showering facilities and single-sex floors available as an option to female students, and requires Brown to provide single-sex athletic opportunities to female students, using the definitions of “male” and “female” reflected in Executive Orders 14168 and 14201. This is in addition to our existing gender-inclusive options for housing and restrooms. Brown remains fully committed to serving the needs of all students and community members in a manner consistent with our long-established policy of nondiscrimination, which includes sex, gender identity and gender expression.

Yes. Brown maintains multiple University systems, including Workday and Banner, that enable community members to indicate their gender identity, personal gender pronouns and/or chosen name, beyond traditionally available binary options. 

Brown’s policies and procedures regarding discrimination, harassment, and sexual and gender-based violence are not impacted by the agreement. The University encourages anyone experiencing discrimination, harassment, or sexual and gender-based violence to seek support and make a report.

Brown is dedicated to ensuring that all students, staff and faculty have an environment free from discrimination and harassment as set forth in the Policy Statement on Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination, including based on sex, gender identity and gender expression. If any member of the Brown community is experiencing any type of discrimination or harassment or would like to discuss your experience, you can contact the Office of Equity Compliance and Reporting by completing a report form or by emailing equity_reporting@brown.edu.

For students who have questions about housing, health care or athletic eligibility, contact information for Residential Life, Student Health Services and Brown Athletics is available on the Brown.edu website. 

Yes, trans and nonbinary individuals will continue to have access to these facilities. The agreement does not restrict the University’s existing gender-inclusive practices, and we remain committed to them. Any exceptions to this general principle for specific facilities (i.e., for student-athlete facilities and the single-sex student housing) are noted elsewhere in this FAQ. Brown will continue to maintain a range of options for all community members, including trans and nonbinary students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

Brown will be updating some bathroom and restroom signage to help avoid any concerns from our community or visitors about their ability to access facilities. A range of nomenclature has long existed for signs across the University, and this presents an opportunity to achieve greater consistency across campus. Throughout the Fall 2025 semester, the University will add signage where none exists or replace existing signs that may be confusing or unclear. Temporary signs may be used until permanent ones can be installed. The federal agreement does not restrict the University’s existing gender-inclusive practices, and we remain committed to them. 

Members of Brown’s senior administration have initiated discussions with leaders in multiple units across campus to work through questions about any changes that may be necessary as the University ensures its full compliance with the agreement. We will provide additional details to the Brown community as we make decisions related to implementation, including in regard to any physical space or policy changes related to restrooms or locker rooms in University buildings. 

As we have for decades, Brown has agreed to abide by NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX. The NCAA’s Participation Policy for Transgender Student-Athletes was last updated in February 2025 and details current eligibility criteria regarding the participation of trans athletes in intercollegiate sports.

The NCAA’s Participation Policy for Transgender Student-Athletes defines this in detail and outlines eligibility for both competition and practices. Every student-athlete at Brown who participates on an NCAA team does so in accordance with the eligibility provisions of the NCAA policy in place at the time.

The provision relates specifically to “Brown Athletics facilities” and providing “intimate facilities such as locker rooms and bathrooms strictly separated on the basis of sex” to “female student-athletes.”

Brown’s existing approaches to housing assignments are consistent with the terms of the federal agreement. Any residential student has the option to select single-sex housing, should they choose to do so.

An expansion of housing options enables Brown to comply with the federal agreement as we also sustain our commitment to gender inclusion for trans and nonbinary students and all students. While assignment to single-sex rooms, floors, and associated facilities will be based on a student’s sex assigned at birth, we are adding an option for single-gender rooms and floors, enabling trans and nonbinary students to choose to live with a roommate whose gender identity matches their own.

Housing assignments for first-year undergraduates are made using data from the student’s official university record in the Banner system, which reflects the student’s sex assigned at birth. This is based on information that incoming students provide in the application for undergraduate admission to Brown.

As an alternative to the default of single-sex housing, gender-inclusive housing enables undergraduates students to live in a shared space with people of any gender — that is, not limited to the same sex assigned at birth — who have also opted in. Incoming students can opt into gender-inclusive housing on their housing application, and roommate matches are made based on the information those students provide on their housing applications for their roommate’s preferred gender. Returning students select their own housing assignments, and roommate matches are mutually agreed upon before the housing selection is made.

Single-sex residential floors are limited to undergraduate students of the same sex. While most students do not request single-sex residential floors, this option is always available to students in the housing selection process. The number of single-sex floors and the location of these floors within residence halls is adjusted each year to meet the demand for single-sex housing, which varies. As explained above, a student who does not opt into gender-inclusive housing will be assigned to housing according to sex assigned at birth. 

The University (including the medical school) has not. Brown Student Health Services does not have surgical facilities, and the University does not own any hospitals or medical centers. Members of the Brown community would need to seek care from an external medical provider, consistent with existing practice, and such care would not be subject to Brown’s agreement with the U.S. government. 

The University has few minors [ages 17 and younger] enrolled at Brown in any given academic year, and because puberty blockers are typically prescribed for pre-pubescent individuals, Brown Student Health Services does not typically prescribe such medication in the pre-pubescent population. In the event a minor seeks a prescription for hormones for the purpose of gender-affirming care from Student Health Services, Brown’s practice is to consult with parents / guardians (with the student’s consent) and provide a list of external medical providers with the right expertise and with whom Brown’s care providers have a relationship. This is the process we will continue to use moving forward. 

As described above: In the event a minor seeks a prescription for hormones for the purpose of gender-affirming care from Student Health Services, Brown’s practice is to consult with parents / guardians (with the student’s consent) and provide a list of external medical providers with the right expertise and with whom Brown’s care providers have a relationship. This is the process we will continue to use moving forward. This is consistent with our approach to referring students to providers for other services not offered on campus.

A small percentage (less than 10%) of all first-year undergraduate students are typically under age 18 upon their start at Brown; by the spring semester, the number of those students is typically less than a dozen or two.

No. The agreement expressly states that it does not give the authority to the United States to dictate Brown’s curriculum. The agreement therefore does not affect medical teaching or training as part of Brown’s curriculum.

No. The agreement does not apply to clinical services provided by health systems that are separate entities from Brown, such as Brown University Health and Care New England.

Yes. Brown’s agreement with the U.S. government does not cover gender-affirming mental health care.

Yes. Hiring managers are encouraged to build robust pools of job applicants by advertising positions broadly. Brown remains committed to hiring practices that do not discriminate based on gender or any other protected characteristic.

The agreement expressly states that it does not give the authority to the United States to dictate Brown’s curriculum or the content of academic speech.