Texas 

1. State Policy: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Safe Prisons/PREA Plan/ Health Care Policy G-51.11[BM1] 
2. Language:
   1. Transgender inmates shall be allowed to shower separately.
   2. During the intake process, non-medical staff shall not search or physically examine a transgender or intersex offender for the sole purpose of determining the offender’s genital status. Offenders identified as transgender or intersex during intake shall be referred to medical in accordance with the TDCJ Intake Procedures Manual. The intake screening for risk of sexual victimization shall include perception of the offender as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or gender nonconforming.
   3. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex offenders shall not be placed in dedicated facilities, units, or wings solely on the basis of this identification or status, unless the placement is in a dedicated unit wing established in connection with a consent decree, legal settlement, or legal judgment for the purpose of protecting these offenders.
   4. When deciding to assign a transgender or intersex offender to a unit for male or female offenders, and when making other housing and programming assignments, consideration shall be made on a case-by-case basis with regard to the health and safety of the offender and potential management or security problems.
   5. Assignments shall be reviewed semiannually, and the inmate's views with respect to their safety shall be given serious consideration.

Local

Harris County (Houston, TX)

1. Policy: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (L.G.B.T. I) Policy #413
2. Harris County in Texas has implemented a comprehensive LGBTI non-discrimination and housing policy for its inmates. Its policy includes a Safe Zone Project with zero-tolerance for staff misconduct, implements identification of inmates by preferred pronouns and names, establishes a Gender Classification Committee to review all issues relating to LGBTI inmates, including housing, and indicates the steps needed for employee training.
3. Language:
   1. Supervisors assigned to the Inmate Processing Center will be certified as Gender Classification Specialists. They shall supervise and manage the intake screening process so that it complies with this policy.
   2. The receiving deputy will notify the Gender Classification Specialist sergeant on duty in the Inmate Processing Center when an LGBTI inmate is received. The sergeant will be responsible for the initial determination of vulnerability of the prisoner and shall notify a Gender Classification Specialist in Classification of the prisoner’s status.
   3. LGBTI prisoners may not be placed in segregated housing against their will due to the sole purpose of their sexual orientation.
   4. LGBTI prisoners may not be placed in segregated housing against their will due to the sole purpose of their sexual orientation. (See Classification Manual for procedures on reassessment periods)
   5. Specially trained Gender Classification Specialists shall assist in the process upon which the Classification Division will base their housing decisions. The mere identification of an inmate as LGBTI is insufficient to warrant an assumption of enhanced risk that the inmate will be sexually abusive.
   6. Due to their vulnerability, transgender prisoners shall be expedited through the entire booking process until classification has determined housing, in accordance with PREA standards. The sergeant on duty in the Inmate Processing Center will be responsible for expediting the LGBTI prisoner to Classification. 6. All inmates, within 72 hours of arrival at a HCSO detention facility, shall be assessed for their risk of being sexually abused by or sexually abusive towards other inmates in compliance with PREA standards.
   7. If an indication of need arises, a Gender Classification Specialist shall conduct a screening interview in a private and respectful manner. The Gender Classification Specialist will only ask questions related to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression for the purpose of making intake, housing and classification assignments. If necessary the inmate will be referred to HCSO Medical for screening.
   8. The Gender Classification Committee has the final authority in all matters related to the classification of LGBTI inmates.
      1. Additional Responsibilities: a. Gender Classification Specialist certification and assistance b. Housing assignment arbitration c. Required reporting
   9. The Gender Classification Committee shall reassess all LGBTI inmates within 30 days from the inmate’s arrival at the facility. The Gender Classification Committee will reassess the inmate’s risk of victimization or abusiveness based upon any additional, relevant information received by the facility since the intake screening.
   10. An LGBTI inmate’s risk level shall immediately be reassessed due to a referral, request, incident of sexual abuse, or receipt of additional information that bears on the inmate’s risk of sexual victimization or abusiveness.
   11. Inmates may not be disciplined for refusing to answer, or for not disclosing complete information in response to screening questions.

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky