Dignity and Opportunity Act (SB 990)

Transgender and nonbinary people in prison or jail are often placed in segregated housing and denied access to programs and parole opportunities. While this is supposedly for their own safety, isolating people and withholding critical resources not only makes it harder for them to qualify for parole and reenter society, but also is cruel and unnecessary. Transgender and nonbinary people deserve the same access to education, drug rehabilitation, vocational training, and jobs as everybody else. SB 990 would mandate equal access to work and programming for people housed in special units. The bill would also promote dignity and respect for transgender and nonbinary people in custody by requiring jail and prison officials to refer to individuals by their preferred name and gender pronouns.