Kansas Bathroom Bill: Definitions, Penalties, and Legal Challenges

The Kansas bathroom bill, formally the Women’s Bill of Rights (Senate Bill 180, enacted in 2023) and its 2026 amendment (Senate Bill 244), requires state and local government buildings, public schools, and state agencies to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms by biological sex at birth. As of 2026, government entities that fail to comply face civil penalties starting at $25,000, and individuals who repeatedly enter a space designated for the opposite sex can be fined or charged with a misdemeanor.

How Kansas Defines Sex Under the Law

SB 180 sets a single definition of “sex” that applies across Kansas law. A person is classified as male or female based on their reproductive biology at birth: females are those who produce ova, males are those who fertilize them.¹ Wherever Kansas statutes, rules, or regulations reference sex, this is the definition that controls.

The law then declares that sex-based separation is “substantially related to the important governmental objectives of protecting the health, safety and privacy of individuals” in restrooms, locker rooms, athletics, prisons and detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, and similar settings.¹ That language is designed to give the state’s sex-separation rules a defense under intermediate constitutional scrutiny.

Who Has to Follow It

The law reaches government-controlled facilities. School districts, public schools, state agencies, and political subdivisions all fall within its scope.¹ SB 244 sharpens the mandate by requiring “governmental entities” to designate multi-occupancy bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms in government buildings as either male or female.²

Private businesses are not covered by the designation requirement. A privately owned restaurant, gym, or store sets its own restroom policy. The law targets buildings owned, leased, or operated by the state or its subdivisions.

Penalties for Government Entities

A government entity that fails to properly designate or maintain sex-separated multi-occupancy spaces faces a $25,000 civil penalty for a first violation and $125,000 for each subsequent violation. Each day of continuing noncompliance counts as a separate violation.² The Attorney General enforces the penalty against state buildings; county or district attorneys handle municipal buildings.

Before enforcement begins, someone must send the entity written notice describing the violation. The entity then has three business days to fix it. If the problem persists after fifteen days, the Attorney General can file a civil enforcement action.²

Penalties for Individuals

Under the original 2023 law, no penalty applied to individuals at all. SB 244 changed that by adding an escalating structure for people who enter a multi-occupancy space designated for the opposite sex:

First violation: a written notice describing the violation, warning that repeated violations can result in fines or criminal charges, and explaining how to appeal.²
Second violation: a $1,000 civil penalty.²
Third or subsequent violation: a Class B misdemeanor, which under Kansas law carries potential jail time and additional fines.²

Complaints against individuals go to the governing body or chief administrator of the facility, who investigates and, if a violation is confirmed, issues the written notice.²

The law also opens a private cause of action. A person who is in a properly designated space and believes their privacy has been invaded by someone of the opposite sex can sue that individual for actual damages or $1,000 in liquidated damages, plus injunctive relief.²

Driver’s Licenses and Birth Certificates

SB 244 added driver’s licenses to the law’s scope.² New and renewed licenses must list the holder’s sex as assigned at birth. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has separately adopted a regulation requiring new copies of birth certificates to reflect birth sex, even if the certificate was previously amended.

This is a change from the situation between June 2025 and early 2026. During that window, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled that the original SB 180 did not require driver’s licenses to reflect sex at birth, and the Kansas Supreme Court declined to review the decision. Some transgender Kansans obtained licenses matching their gender identity in that period. Under the amended law, those markers no longer stand on renewal.

Schools, Data Collection, and Athletics

Public schools carry the heaviest compliance load. Districts must designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms by sex, and they must record each student as male or female at birth in any data system used for anti-discrimination compliance or public health, crime, or economic reporting.¹ Athletic programs must use the same sex-at-birth definition when determining team eligibility.³

Neither SB 180 nor SB 244 requires schools to offer single-occupancy or gender-neutral alternatives, though some districts have explored them as a practical accommodation. The SB 244 penalties give administrators a strong incentive to keep facilities clearly labeled and consistently managed: a first missed designation costs $25,000, and continuing noncompliance runs at $125,000 per day.²

Where the Legal Challenges Stand

The ACLU of Kansas has challenged SB 180 in state court on behalf of transgender plaintiffs, arguing it violates the Kansas constitution. A 2024 district court preliminary injunction related to driver’s license gender markers was reversed by the Kansas Court of Appeals in June 2025, and the Kansas Supreme Court declined further review. After SB 244 rewrote the underlying statute, the district court dismissed the original case without prejudice. The ACLU is seeking a temporary injunction against SB 244.

Federal enforcement adds a second front. The U.S. Department of Education opened investigations in 2025 into four Kansas school districts for alleged Title IX and FERPA violations. How courts reconcile the Kansas sex-at-birth framework with federal anti-discrimination law remains unsettled.

1
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Senate Bill 180 Establishing the Womens Bill of Rights
2
Kansas State Legislature. House Substitute for Senate Bill No 244 Enrolled
3
Kansas State Legislature. Supplemental Note on Senate Bill No 180