Closed Unit

[Torchwood]

I think that gumby is mostly correct. If the Charter School receives any public funding (through vouchers, grants, etc.), I would think that they cannot restrict membership.

[krikkitbot]

I'm a former board member at a charter school. A charter school is a public school with some freedom in curriculum and staffing. However, you still have to follow the same rules as public schools. 

 

Ultimately they can try to restrict membership. They can do it overtly or covertly (not promote the troop outside of the school, etc.) but I would strongly advice against it and would encourage them to consult with their attorney before doing so. 

 

A charter school is a business. Its primary purpose is education but it also needs to attract members of the community to choose to send their kids there. What kind of message does it send to say we don't want your kids to mingle with our kids? Would you want to send your kids there?

[Pale Horse]

I'm a former board member at a charter school. A charter school is a public school with some freedom in curriculum and staffing. However, you still have to follow the same rules as public schools. 

 

Ultimately they can try to restrict membership. They can do it overtly or covertly (not promote the troop outside of the school, etc.) but I would strongly advice against it and would encourage them to consult with their attorney before doing so. 

 

A charter school is a business. Its primary purpose is education but it also needs to attract members of the community to choose to send their kids there. What kind of message does it send to say we don't want your kids to mingle with our kids? Would you want to send your kids there?

 

 

From the OP's post it sounds more like a security concern as opposed to overt exclusion of someone based on a protected class.  I don't think it's sending a negative message to say "for the safety of our students, members of Pack/Troop XXX must be registered students of XYZ Charter Academy."  

[fred johnson]

I think that gumby is mostly correct. If the Charter School receives any public funding (through vouchers, grants, etc.), I would think that they cannot restrict membership.

 

They could restrict membership to the students of the school.  People are mixing issues and questions.  Just as a school has the right to only have their students on their football team, the school has the right to only have their students in a troop.  Faith and other restrictions are a different issue.

 

The original question was could a school run a closed unit.  Closed in that they only accept members from their school.  The answer would be yes that is their right. 

[cyclops]

This doesn't directly address the question but it has been my observation over the years that for our local area at least, the district executives will charter literally anything that is willing to sign the forms as new units. There's nothing on those forms that ask the intentions of the new CO's as far as I can tell and these DE's seem to want to just add units regardless of merit.

Maybe questions of 'closed' and 'open' are not of primary importance?

[Peregrinator]

SSScout included the Knights of Columbus in his list of groups who can charter scout units.

 

Not the Knights of Columbus.  The Catholic Church has instructed the KC's to not charter scout units anymore.

I think it was a KofC decision, not a Catholic Church decision.

[Peregrinator]

Yes, the Catholic Church prefers that parishes charter scout units. 

What does that even mean? Most of the world doesn't have scout units that need to be "chartered."

[NJCubScouter]

What does that even mean? Most of the world doesn't have scout units that need to be "chartered."

 

Most of the world also doesn't have a local-option policy where the option may only be exercised by a religious organization, and probably not by a fraternal organization affiliated with a religion.

 

That statement is not intended as a criticism.  I am a fan of the local option, and if CO's/units need to be reshuffled a little to make it work, I'm all for it.

[David CO]

I think it was a KofC decision, not a Catholic Church decision.

 

It was the Pope's decision.  

 

As Chisos said in his post, the point was to keep the parish as the "focal point" of The Catholic Church's youth ministries.

Edited February 28, 2017 by David CO

[fred johnson]

I think it was a KofC decision, not a Catholic Church decision.

 

LOL ... I love my Church, but I also am a bit of a pragmatist.  KofC chartering units exposes a large national organization to legal liabilities.  KofC has huge assets as it is also an insurance organization originally founded to help families of poorer Catholic workers insure each other.  Having KofC charter units exposes that insurance fund.  

• KofC Organization - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Columbus
• KofC Founding - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._McGivney

Parishes are autonomous individual organizations.  When a volunteer in one parish does something wrong, it would not escalate into deeper pockets across all parishes. 

 

IMHO, this is also the right move.  "I think" huge deep pockets (assets) attracts the attention of those wanting to connect mistakes (crimes) to those deep pockets.  IMHO, overly deep pockets perverts justice.  If a parish fails to oversee a program, that parish should be sued, but not the whole nation.

Edited February 28, 2017 by fred johnson

[fred johnson]

What does that even mean? Most of the world doesn't have scout units that need to be "chartered."

 

BSA uses the concept of "charter" to put ownership onto someone other that BSA.  BSA does not own units; does not own their equipment and does not own their bank accounts.  Charters select leadership, membership and provide resources such as meeting locations and storage.  

 

On the flip side, it is meant to limit BSA liability.  Legally, units exist under their charters, not under BSA.

 

Charter organizations are usually churches, but can really be any organization wanting to run a program for youth:  schools, business, Lions clubs, VFWs, community groups, etc.  

Edited February 28, 2017 by fred johnson

[Peregrinator]

It was the Pope's decision.

Where do you get that idea? Not even Pope Francis would be such a micromanager. If you mean that the KofC responded to something the Pope said by deciding no longer to charter BSA units, that might be accurate. But there's no indication that the Pope asked the KofC not to charter BSA units any more. He probably is not even aware that such a thing as chartering a scout unit actually exists.

[Peregrinator]

IMHO, this is also the right move.  "I think" huge deep pockets (assets) attracts the attention of those wanting to connect mistakes (crimes) to those deep pockets.  IMHO, overly deep pockets perverts justice.  If a parish fails to oversee a program, that parish should be sued, but not the whole nation.

 

I have no position on whether this was the right move or the wrong one for the KofC. I'm simply pointing out that it was their decision; as far as I know no one forced them to make it.

[David CO]

I have no position on whether this was the right move or the wrong one for the KofC. I'm simply pointing out that it was their decision; as far as I know no one forced them to make it.

 

No, it was not their decision.

 

In addition to giving up their Boy Scout units, the KC's were also instructed to begin phasing out its own youth program, the Columbian Squires.

[Peregrinator]

No, it was not their decision.

 

In addition to giving up their Boy Scout units, the KC's were also instructed to begin phasing out its own youth program, the Columbian Squires.

So the KofC was not telling the truth when they said,

 

"The Board of Direc­tors has thus decid­ed that as part of this new ini­tia­tive, local units of the Knights of Colum­bus will no longer spon­sor Boy Scout troops."

 

?

 

Even the initiative to which this refers, "Build­ing the Domes­tic Church While Strength­en­ing Our Parish," is not a Catholic Church initiative, but a KofC one.