The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 28 : Public Institutions and Corrections

Chapter 003 : Administration of the Department

• § 129. Gender identification and nondiscrimination

  (a) Gender identification and address. The Department shall ensure that all individuals are addressed in a manner consistent with their gender identity.

  (1) During the initial intake process, and in as private a setting as possible, the Department shall ask each individual to specify the following:

  (A) the individual’s gender identity of female, male, transgender, gender-diverse, or intersex;

  (B) the individual’s gender pronoun and honorific; and

  (C) for transgender, gender-diverse, or intersex individuals, the individual’s request as to the gender of staff who may perform a lawful search.

  (2) An individual shall not be disciplined for refusing to answer, or for not disclosing complete information in response to, the questions pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.

  (3) At any time after intake, an individual may inform designated facility staff of the individual’s gender identity, and designated facility staff shall promptly repeat the process described in subdivision (1) of this subsection.

  (4) The Department shall ensure Department staff and contractors receive gender-responsive training proportional to their level of interaction with inmates.

  (b) Nondiscrimination. The Department’s decision not to accommodate a transgender, gender-diverse, or intersex individual’s search, classification or housing placement request shall not be based solely on the individual’s:

  (1) anatomy, including the genitalia;

  (2) other physical characteristics; or

  (3) diverse gender expression. (Added 2025, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 1, 2026.)