Transgender Kansans to challenge law invalidating driver’s licenses and restricting public restroom access

Lawrence, KS - The District Court of Douglas County will hold a hearing starting on September 29 in Doe v. State of Kansas, a state court challenge brought by transgender Kansans against a state law invalidating their state-issued driver’s licenses, barring them from making any further changes to the gender on their driver’s licenses, and barring them from using restrooms consistent with their gender.

• What
  • The District Court of Douglas County will hear arguments in plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of SB 244.
• When
  • Witness and expert testimony will take place from September 29 through October 2, with each day’s hearing beginning at 9 a.m. Central Time. Legal arguments will be held on October 7.
• Who
  • Plaintiffs and attorneys challenging the law will be available for media upon request.
• Where
  • 111 E 11th St, Lawrence, KS 66044

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law that prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas - from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

The Gayly online. 9/15/26 @ 2:56 p.m. CST.