UNC Charlotte will end gender-affirming housing this fall to match federal guidelines
UNC Charlotte will cease allowing transgender students to request housing aligned with their gender identity next semester, a university spokesperson confirmed.
Instead, housing will be based on sex assigned at birth, aligning with changes to federal guidelines, Christy Jackson, UNC Charlotte deputy chief communications officer, told The Charlotte Observer.
Annelise Mennicke is a professor in the UNC Charlotte school of social work, whose research is focused on the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ individuals. Mennicke spoke to The Observer in a personal capacity, not as a representative of the university, and said she’s concerned a lack of gender-affirming housing will negatively impact transgender students.
“Trans folks have much higher rates of suicide, anxiety, depression, and that’s partially because of the discrimination and the negative environments that they experience,” she said. “That only gets worse when you don’t have a place to live that feels safe.”
Federal policy shifts influence decision
There is not a distinct executive order or federal directive related to gender and student housing specifically. However, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his first day of his second term, declaring the federal government recognizes only two sexes (female and male), determined at birth.
“Executive Order 14168 directed federal agencies, including the Department of Education, to interpret sex-based laws based on biological sex rather than gender identity,” Jackson wrote to The Observer Wednesday. “As a recipient of federal funds, UNC Charlotte must comply with applicable Title IX directives.”
The UNC System’s housing policy in place since 2013 says its schools “shall not assign members of the opposite sex to any institutionally owned and operated dormitory room, dormitory suite, or campus apartment unless the students are siblings, parent and child, or they are legally married.”
State lawmakers passed a bill in 2025 that went into effect in January that says North Carolina officially recognizes only two sexes “in all administrative rules, regulations, or public policies adopted by the State of North Carolina or its political subdivisions.” House Bill 805 went into effect in January, after initially being vetoed by Gov. Josh Stein on July 3. The veto was later overridden by legislators July 29.
“Our housing assignments have always been based on sex in accordance with UNC System policy,” Jackson said. “In light of those changes, we could no longer continue offering this separate, specialized grouping option.”
UNC Asheville updated its housing policy in 2025 to require students to submit legal gender documentation, like a driver’s license or birth certificate, that affirms their gender identity in order to receive gender-affirming housing.
Other impacts of federal changes
Since the second Trump administration began, it’s cracked down on initiatives is said promoted “diversity, equity and inclusion” or “gender ideology” by threatening to withdraw federal funding. Higher education institutions have been a major battleground in the culture war.
The federal government previously terminated 17 research grants at UNC Charlotte in early 2025, totaling over $14 million.
At least 10 of the 17 total terminated grants were for research focused on a particular demographic, such as Black youth or individuals with disabilities, or diversity within a particular field, and UNC Charlotte confirmed at least four were terminated due to at least a partial focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
The federal government explicitly terminated some of these grants for their focus on the LGBTQ population, including a project led by Mennicke.
UNC Charlotte currently has around 32,000 students, including around 26,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students.