The Boy Scouts is getting a name change as girls will soon be welcomed to the organization.
Effective February 2019 the new name for the Boy Scouts program, its older youth program, will be "Scouts BSA."
“The troops will be single in gender, we’re not talking about a co-ed program. They’re just making it available to both boys and girls. The families told us that’s what they preferred and that’s what they wanted,” said the Scout’s Effie Delimarkos.
The parent organization will still be Boy Scouts of America. The Cub Scouts, which will retain its name, has already started admitting girls. Scouts BSA will let boys and girls work to earn the Eagle Scout rank.
One Eagle Scout leader is against it.
“I just don’t believe a man can build a girl, the way I can build a girl,” said one Eagle Scout.
Some parents support letting girls into the Boy Scouts
"There's no harm in seeing a girl swing an ax and chop a tree. Like, that looks—that feels good."
More than 3,000 girls nationwide have already enrolled in Early Adopter Program.
BSA unveiled the new Scout Me In campaign that features girls for the first time, as well as boys, in its iconic Cub Scout program.
Since announcing the BSA’s historic decision to welcome girls into Scouting, more than 3,000 girls across the nation have already enrolled in the BSA’s Early Adopter Program and are participating in Cub Scouts ahead of the full launch later this year.
“As we enter a new era for our organization, it is important that all youth can see themselves in Scouting in every way possible. That is why it is important that the name for our Scouting program for older youth remain consistent with the single name approach used for the Cub Scouts,” said Michael Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America. “Starting in February 2019, the name of the older youth program will be ‘Scouts BSA,’ and the name of our iconic organization will continue to be Boy Scouts of America.”