On Wednesday, the Boy Scouts of America board of directors unanimously voted to welcome girls into their Cub Scouts program and also decided to create a special program for older girls that allows them to advance and earn the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
BSA representatives say the call comes after years of requests from families, according to the press release.
Leaders reportedly conducted studies and carefully evaluated how to bring the benefits of Scouting to the greatest number of youth possible and adapt to the changing needs of today’s families.
One of the findings showed that programs that serve the whole family are more appealing to minorities, dual-earner families, and single-parent households.
“This decision is true to the BSA’s mission and core values outlined in the Scout Oath and Law. The values of Scouting – trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example – are important for both young men and women,” said Michael Surbaugh, the BSA’s Chief Scout Executive in a press release. “We believe it is critical to evolve how our programs meet the needs of families interested in positive and lifelong experiences for their children.”
Starting in the 2018 program year, families can choose to sign up their sons and daughters for Cub Scouts. Using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts program, the BSA also will deliver a program for older girls, which will be announced in 2018 and available in 2019, that will enable girls to earn the Eagle Scout rank.
“This unique approach allows us to maintain the integrity of the single-gender model while also meeting the needs of today’s families,” the press release said.
This decision is not the first effort to be include girls. The BSA has offered co-ed programs since 1971 through Exploring and the Venturing program. The STEM Scout pilot program is also available for both boys and girls.
According to the organization’s website, the BSA is composed of nearly 2.3 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21 and approximately 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the US.