A transgender custodian at the University of Kansas was reported to human resources after using the women's restroom at Parker Hall, in a case involving the state's new bathroom law. Siobhán Kirchstein, who works for the Kansas Geological Survey, a research division housed at KU, says she was contacted by the university on July 10 about the complaint, but has kept using the same restroom ever since. According to the University of Kansas's Accessible KU building index, Parker Hall houses the Kansas Geological Survey, while the university's accessibility map identifies all-gender restrooms and 24-hour emergency phones across campus.
Kirchstein was reported by an employee on June 22 for using the women's restroom at Parker Hall, according to the Kansas City Star. She told the paper she was initially completely shocked by the report, but ultimately decided to keep using the same bathroom rather than change her routine. Kirchstein said she chose to take risks rather than comply with the law, according to the Star's reporting.
The complaint arrives under Senate Bill 244, a Kansas law that mandates transgender residents' driver's licenses reflect their sex assigned at birth and requires multi-occupancy bathrooms in public buildings to be designated to a specific gender. The law outlines escalating penalties for people who use a bathroom not corresponding to their sex assigned at birth, and per the Star's reporting, Kirchstein now faces a $1,000 fine if she is found in violation a second time, while a third violation is classified as a misdemeanor.
How a Bail-Bond Bill Became a Bathroom Law
SB 244 began as a policy about bail bonds before Republican legislative leadership morphed it into bathroom and driver's-license regulations, the Star reports, and the bill received no public hearings on its core provisions before passing on a party-line vote. The Kansas Legislature passed the substituted bill on January 28, 2026, and after Democratic Governor Laura Kelly vetoed it on February 13, lawmakers overrode her veto in the Senate on February 17 by a party-line vote of 31–9 and in the House on February 18 by a party-line vote of 87–37, according to Wikipedia's account of the legislative record. The law took effect February 26, 2026.
In her veto message, Governor Kelly called the bill poorly drafted and warned it created severe unintended consequences, such as prohibiting family members from visiting relatives in shared hospital or nursing home rooms and preventing fathers from accompanying young daughters into public restrooms, according to the Kansas Secretary of State's published record of the veto. She argued lawmakers should have focused on economic affordability rather than policing public facility usage. Under the law, public institutions like state universities can be reported to the Kansas Attorney General if found non-compliant, facing fines of $25,000 for a first violation and $125,000 for each subsequent day, according to The Advocate. The law also creates a private civil right of action letting individuals sue alleged violators for $1,000 in damages.
KU Cites Legal Obligation, Removes Kirchstein's Directory Listing
KU spokesperson Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said the university has an obligation to comply with state law, even though KU policy prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression, per the Star. The university's IT department has since removed Kirchstein's email from the staff directory. A Parker Hall employee placed an all-gender bathroom sign on the women's bathroom windowsill, though Kirchstein has continued using the same restroom regardless.
Kirchstein came to Lawrence in 2017 for graduate school and has since worked as a drag performer, Lawrence Pride secretary, religious studies graduate teaching assistant, and Hebrew tutor, according to the Star's profile. Her case drew wider attention after Libs of TikTok posted about it, a post that received more than 200,000 views. An online fundraiser has since gathered about $5,000 to help protect Kirchstein from discrimination.
Support Grows as Legal Fight Over SB 244 Continues
Trista Taulu said a transgender person should not have to fight for their position simply because they used the restroom, according to the Star's report. The Trans Lawrence Coalition described Kirchstein's actions as an act of civil disobedience, and Kirchstein has gathered support from across Kansas opposing the law.
According to a 2017 study available through the National Institutes of Health, researchers examined transgender and gender-nonconforming youths' experiences and feelings of safety in public facilities in relation to psychological well-being.
SB 244 expands on Kansas's 2023 law, known as the Women's Bill of Rights, which defined legal sex strictly by biological reproductive function at birth and had already sparked litigation between Attorney General Kris Kobach and state licensing agencies over gender markers, per Wikipedia. On March 2, 2026, the ACLU, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit, Doe v. State of Kansas, in Douglas County District Court, challenging the law as a violation of state constitutional protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equal protection, due process, and free speech, according to a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union. That same day, the Kansas Department of Revenue began issuing notices declaring driver's licenses with updated gender markers invalid, with no grace period, and instructing holders to surrender their credentials.
A Douglas County District Court judge denied a motion for a temporary restraining order against SB 244 in March, but the court has scheduled a full evidentiary hearing beginning September 29 on the plaintiffs' motion for a temporary injunction, according to the ACLU of Kansas. That means SB 244 remains fully enforceable for now, including at KU. Samantha Boucher used the women's restroom inside the Kansas Statehouse three times in front of Capitol Police. The Kansas AFL-CIO Executive Board has also scored SB 244 as a key opposition vote on its legislative scorecard, warning the law criminalizes transgender public employees in government buildings and invalidates identity documents needed for employment verification.
Kansas's law follows a broader pattern playing out across the country. For now, Kirchstein's case remains unresolved, with the state's core legal challenge still months from a ruling.
