On February 18, 2026, the Kansas Legislature enacted S.B. 244 over Governor Laura Kelly’s veto, and the law took effect immediately. It restricts restroom access in public buildings based on a person’s biological sex at birth. It also prohibits changes to gender markers on state-issued identification documents, such as driver’s licenses and birth certificates, and invalidates changes that have already been made.
A new report from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law examines how transgender people in Kansas could be impacted by the new law.
The Williams Institute estimates that 29,700 Kansans aged 13 and older identify as transgender, including 22,400 adults and 7,300 youth. Many already face discrimination in public spaces. Among Kansas respondents to the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey (USTS) who visited or used a place of public accommodation in the past year and reported that staff there knew they were transgender, 20% reported being denied equal treatment, harassed, or physically attacked.
“This law requires transgender people across a broad range of social contexts to interact with the world based on their sex assigned at birth,” said lead author Elana Redfield, Federal Policy Director at the Williams Institute. “The consequences for transgender people in Kansas are far-reaching. Now that S.B. 244 is in place, they face a heightened risk of discrimination any time they need to use government identification—including for job and housing applications, hospitals, even supermarkets or pharmacies—or when they enter any public restroom.”
Access to Restrooms
- S.B. 244 requires that everyone in Kansas use public restrooms or sex-separated spaces, such as a locker room, that match their sex assigned at birth. The law could impact all 29,700 transgender people in the state and anyone physically present in Kansas, even if only traveling through.
- Among Kansas respondents to the 2022 USTS, 63% reported that they sometimes (47%) or always (16%) avoided using a public restroom because they feared confrontations or other problems. Among those who sometimes or always avoided restrooms, 90% reported physical effects, such as pain or discomfort, reduced eating or drinking, and urinary tract infections.
Updated ID Documents
- An estimated 15,900 transgender adults currently reside in Kansas and have Kansas-issued driver’s licenses. Of those, about 3,300 have changed their gender marker and are likely affected by S.B. 244.
- Ninety-four percent (94%) of adult 2022 USTS respondents born in Kansas reported having a birth certificate. Of these, 17%—or 3,100 adults—have changed their gender marker and are likely affected by the law.
- Among Kansas respondents aged 16 and older in the 2022 USTS who showed IDs with a name or gender that did not match their presentation, 22% reported negative experiences, such as being harassed, denied services, or attacked.
- Kansas has a strict voter ID law that requires in-person voting and a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot. An estimated 14,300 transgender Kansans will be eligible to vote in the November 2026 general election. Of those, approximately 59%, or 8,400 people, lack a government-issued photo ID that reflects their correct name and gender, and S.B. 244 could make it harder for them to vote.
“Mismatched identification documents can out a person as transgender, exposing them to violations of privacy, harassment, denial of services, and violence,” said study author Jody Herman, Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute. “Having IDs that match one’s gender identity improves daily life for transgender people and has also been associated with better mental health and well-being.”