Eagle1993

More info from another FB site... This information just in: This evening, councils received word that communication about two items will be shared tomorrow, 5/2/18: 1) The new name for the current Boy Scout program to be effective in February 2019 when girls are welcomed. 2) The new marketing campaign featuring Family Scouting in the Cub Scout program. Please monitor Scouting Newsroom, Scouting Magazine's "Bryan on Scouting" blog, the BSA social channels, and the Family Scouting page at scouting.org tomorrow (Wednesday).

6. BSA color nail polish.

We have to get our remaining speculation in quickly... they didn’t give us much time!

A bit more info “What we're talking about is what we're going to call those members in a Troop -- male and female -- which will be announced tomororw at midday.”

Just confirmed NOT “Scouting USA”...🙄 They are only talking about the BSA4G program name. The organization remains Boy Scouts of America

From that FB post it isn’t clear; however, some of the comments seem to allude to a new name. Also, it appears thy have a commercial that is ready to go out.

Additional updates (from various FB groups). Nothing too exciting, but the various volunteers are indicating much more info should be available over the next few weeks (after NEXT connect meetings & BSA nationals in May). New clothing for BSA4G will be available in December (that date has varied a bit but it is the latest info I have heard of...) NEXT Connect conference displayed some new clothing options, none are official. They included the return of the red stripe BSA socks. Blue Cub Scout shorts and capris/roll up pants options for girls. I have seen pictures on a FB post but the admin has asked that they not be shared (concern is that unofficial clothing pictures is distributed causing confusion). No early adopter program for BSA4G ... that seems to be fairly consistent. Holding the date to Feb 2019. The female CM/ACM requirement was stated but there has been no follow up.... so still waiting to see if that is a requirement for Cub Scout packs with girls. The name for the older girls program will be announced soon and no later than the May National BSA meeting. Some Venturing girls have written to BSA as they now realize that they will be too old for Eagle Scout. As of now, some parents/leaders have indicated BSA is pushing back on any exemption. (I agree with BSA on this). Minimum number of youth to start a unit remains 5 ... so far no indication that will change. Someone in a FB post wrote the word "Weblow" ... *slaps head* Again, nothing earth shattering. Looking forward to learning more official news.

@Jameson76 There is a Lion book as well, but I haven't seen a picture of the printed one yet. Cover art below. I've seen 1 picture of the inside of 1 book and it did show a girl cub scout. I'm sure the language has been modified to be gender neutral. Not sure if the ratio is the same (boys vs girls).

It’s getting ugly. This pic was from a recent GSUSA/BSA working meeting.

Books have been printed. Should hit shelves in June.

If I could up vote this 1000 times I would!

Based on the what I have heard I would be careful of holding any joint meetings/events without GSUSA local council approval. We had discussed this has a Pack but now I do not plan to pursue. I have no desire to have our school GSUSA leaders grilled by council (parent only meetings, treasurer record review, etc.).

G2SS BSA insurance policy recommended PPE for wiffle ball in 2018.

I have asked about dens meeting together and that would not be considered breaking rules. My father who is a volunteer at a council out of state and my DE had the same response. A girl den should be treated the same as a boy den. If you have dens that meet together for joint projects you can continue doing that with boy and girl dens. Yes... this could clearly be a paper den, but there has been no clear rule I have seen that states boy and girl dens cannot work on projects together. Now.... if every meeting is coed and they do everything together and have the same leaders it would be a violation. I do expect this is and will happen, I’m just not sure that is the case in this article.

Girls planning to join Troops next year can apply to be part of the WSJ 2019. See article below. https://wsj2019.us/2018/04/16/women-at-the-world-scout-jamboree/ What if the girl is not old enough to join Scouts right now? If you or a friend wants to join Scouting for the 2019 WSJ, she can join the WSJ contingent now! Anyone who was born between July 22, 2001 and July 21, 2005 may attend WSJ as a participant. If you are too young to register for Venturing (12 or 13 years of age right now), but are eligible to attend, you can still come to WSJ. A potential female participant must contact their council first and have a council staff member contact the contingent.

There have been some Packs that actually generated recruiting material that showed a Girl Scout and a Girl Cub Scout on the same flyer emphasizing you can be both. I also know of some Packs that have combined GSUSA and BSA meetings for their new members. ... That was a disaster as GSUSA investigated them for financial reasons (was GSUSA Troop $$ spent on BSA activities). I think all of this comes from well intentioned volunteers but GSUSA clearly has a right to their brand and sees this as a threat. The other area is media confusion. I remember one newscast that showed the GSUSA logo when talking about BSA. GSUSA is defending their copyright and BSA is reminding their volunteers to comply.

Good reminder for those of us recruiting girls going forward. This letter was sent out earlier today. CSE Letter on Infringements.pdf

Comments sections under articles bring out some of the worst in people and skew based upon the audience. Go ahead and read deadspin.com articles and you would believe 99% of this country wants fully run National healthcare and that NFL players should be honored for kneeling. Then go to Fox News and read comments under their article... a bit different. The real question is what do parents and their youth in our target age range want and need to have fun and grow into strong leaders. I don’t think a comment section under an article (regardless of position) represents an accurate answer to that question. Polling of parents in the 30-50 year range over the next 5-10 years will be the best indication if the target audience is happy with the change. IMHO

The FB group is run by volunteers and they submitted questions to a National BSA member. That individual recorded answers (only the female CM/ACM answer was controversial). I think the admins were upset the video leaked as it means the group may see less direct answers from national. I didn’t see any evidence that National requested this. Note that the only info regarding requiring a female CM/ACM for Girl or coed Packs was on that video. There was a lot of pushback and so far there hasn’t been confirmation that is going to be official policy. I believe that is also the reason the admins don’t want videos floating around of National BSA members on policies they may be in flux (just guessing). We are waiting on an update that should be going to executives this week.

Speculation/at least partially - I believe this is being done to ensure separate SPL/ASPL/PL/APLs.

I would expect the same change that occurred when the Boys Club charter was updated when they changed to the Boys and Girls Club. From the Boys and Girls Club website - “To recognize the fact that girls are a part of our cause, the national organization's name was changed to Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 1990. Accordingly, Congress amended and renewed our charter.” However, I’m not sure Boy Scouts of America name would change. I think it could just be (possibly) one of the programs under BSA. Of course this is all speculation.

I have been closely following a FB page that seems to have reliable information. I don’t believe any naming for the girl Boy Scout program has been finalized (at least released to Councils); however they are close as the name is supposed to be announced at the NAM in May. Many high ranking BSA volunteers are supportive of simply using Scouts and Troop; however, they have been clear that there is no official name yet and they are not in the know. I won’t believe anything regarding a name until it is officially announced. Note there are some interesting updates... Linked Troops can have identical numbers. This came through some questions in a FAQ. Scoutnet will be able to tell is it is a girl or boy Troop, but again, linked Troops can have the same number. The new uniform went through reviews (there was a showing April 9 to a limited set of people). What I found interesting was this comment from a BSA National professional: “ Thank you for all the comments. Let me assure you that the uniforms that we are testing are for boys and girls. We are not planning different uniforms, however, we may have some additional options like skorts or capri options that are for girls - those are being tested.” There will be NO early adopter program for Troops. So info is slowly coming out but nothing official on the name.

Based on the skew of the comments my guess is that this article is linked through a right wing site (Drudge, Fox, Breitbart, CNS, etc.). If linked through a left wing site (Huffington Post, Daily Kos, MSNBC) the comments would also be negative but with the slant that the BSA is a nationalistic right wing organization who is attempting to undermine a progressive all girl organization. I take pleasure that I’m part of the one organization that Murdoch and Huffington despise. BSA is bringing our country back together!

BTW if National asks I still live in Alaska. Here is a recent picture.

Apparently some people shared the video (it leaked). Those individuals are now being tossed out of the FB group. The video wasn’t controversial it was simply stating some reasoning behind the June 11 date and clarity of leadership requirements.