Hearing scheduled in legal challenge to anti-trans law, SB244

A judge for the District Court of Douglas County has scheduled an evidentiary hearing beginning on September 29, 2026 on Plaintiff’s motion for a temporary injunction in Doe v. Kansas, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB 244.

March 23, 2026 10:00 am

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2026

CONTACT
ACLU Media: [email protected]
Esmie Tseng, ACLU of Kansas, [email protected]

LAWRENCE, KS. - A judge for the District Court of Douglas County has scheduled an evidentiary hearing beginning on September 29, 2026 on Plaintiff’s motion for a temporary injunction in Doe v. Kansas, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB 244.

“We look forward to our day in court to demonstrate the harms of this law and ensure that the voices of our clients and transgender Kansans are heard,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “This law has already forced transgender people to decide whether they can stay in Kansas, now that their driver’s licenses must out them as transgender and they cannot use the restrooms in government buildings on the same terms as other people. We all deserve the freedom to our privacy and safety in our daily lives, and we will continue to work toward a Kansas where that is true for everyone.”

The lawsuit challenges SB 244, a Kansas state law that, after passing the legislature swiftly in March, immediately invalidated the driver’s licenses of transgender people across the state in March and authorized anyone to sue anybody suspected of being transgender for using the “wrong” restroom in government buildings. The court denied plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order on March 10.

SB 244, passed into law by the state legislature over Governor Laura Kelly’s veto, prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms that align with their gender identity on government property. It 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 Kansas-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In early March when the law went into effect, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. The law 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.

Doe v. State of Kansas was filed in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of anonymous Plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. 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.

A resource answering frequently asked questions about SB 244 is here.

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About the ACLU of Kansas: The ACLU of Kansas is the statewide affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU of Kansas is dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For more information, visit our website at www.aclukansas.org.

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Doe v. State of Kansas

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which 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 state 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.” Click here to learn more about SB 244 and what it means for transgender people. If you or a loved one is impacted by Senate Bill 244 becoming a law, contact us by visiting aclu.org/KS_SB244. We want to hear from you.