Need help with new requirements in old handbook

[DarleneBBB]

Hello,

 

I need some assistance with a scout that was using the old handbook with the new 2016 requirements stapled in. He is a tenderfoot and has been since 2015. Half of the requirements were done using old, half with new. On the new requirements insert, if the requirement was already completed and signed off in old handbook, he checked it off and referenced the requirement number it was with the old requirements. Other than being very messy, is this acceptable? Or should I have him get new signatures on the new inserts to avoid any issues?

 

I realize I may be splitting hairs but I dont want any scout to run into problems when they try for Eagle and someone looks at their handbook.

 

He was carefull to only check off requirements that did not change at all and word for word are the same.

 

Any suggestions or insight?

[RememberSchiff]

Welcome to scouter.com

[TAHAWK]

We had a District Advancement Chair who looked at Advancement Reports.  But Handbooks?  The official record is the paper or Internet Advancement Report so far as I know, subject to change when I wasn't looking.

 

"4.0.0.2 Reporting Advancement All Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, and Sea Scout ranks, and all Venturing advancement awards must be reported to local councils.* The best and most accurate method is through the BSA’s Internet portal for reporting advancement (see “Internet Advancement Reporting,†6.0.0.0, for more detail on reporting). At the council’s discretion, the paper form, Advancement Report, No. 34403, may also be submitted.

...

Units should report advancement monthly. This assures member records are complete. Missing reports are a serious issue, for example, when it comes to documenting advancement for boards of review, the Eagle Scout rank, and membership transfers or reinstatements. To reflect an accurate count in the Journey to Excellence performance recognition program, it is also important that all advancement for a calendar year be recorded during that year."

 

B.S.A., Guide to Advancement (2017) [emphasis added]

 

The Guide to Advancement does not mention recording of passing a requirement in the Handbook as a step in advancement.  It's a tool, not a requirement or an official record.

Edited May 15, 2017 by TAHAWK

[Back Pack]

Hello,

I need some assistance with a scout that was using the old handbook with the new 2016 requirements stapled in. He is a tenderfoot and has been since 2015. Half of the requirements were done using old, half with new. On the new requirements insert, if the requirement was already completed and signed off in old handbook, he checked it off and referenced the requirement number it was with the old requirements. Other than being very messy, is this acceptable? Or should I have him get new signatures on the new inserts to avoid any issues?

I realize I may be splitting hairs but I dont want any scout to run into problems when they try for Eagle and someone looks at their handbook.

He was carefull to only check off requirements that did not change at all and word for word are the same.

Any suggestions or insight?

We are keeping them in both books. Guys that didn't finish first class by 2017 have to use the new requirements, but we still sign off on both books...just in case.

[qwazse]

... He was carefull to only check off requirements that did not change at all and word for word are the same. ...

He was careful? That boy's ready to tackle an Eagle Project Workbook! Tell him to hustle up and advance to life.

 

If the kid's trustworthy and his patrol leader can see what skills need to be demonstrated next ... reward the boy's initiative and run with it.

 

@@TAHAWK's references, I believe, refer to registering with council completion of rank advancement and merit badges ... not each requirement ... So what we're talking about here is just a little more work at the SMC looking for signatures in two places.

[Col. Flagg]

Hello,

 

I need some assistance with a scout that was using the old handbook with the new 2016 requirements stapled in. He is a tenderfoot and has been since 2015. Half of the requirements were done using old, half with new. On the new requirements insert, if the requirement was already completed and signed off in old handbook, he checked it off and referenced the requirement number it was with the old requirements. Other than being very messy, is this acceptable? Or should I have him get new signatures on the new inserts to avoid any issues?

 

I realize I may be splitting hairs but I dont want any scout to run into problems when they try for Eagle and someone looks at their handbook.

 

He was carefull to only check off requirements that did not change at all and word for word are the same.

 

Any suggestions or insight?

 

I agree with BackPack. We are signing off on both copies of their requirements. Pre-2017 Scouts get their original handbook signed off, as well as the 2017 requirement insert pages. We tell them to keep the latter in a safe place, some have even laminated them and we sign off with Sharpie.

 

We went through a similar thing in 2010 when the requirements changed then.

[NJCubScouter]

Our troop regards the handbook as "the last word."  Whether the council or anyone else does, I don't know.  But our troop does.  It does make it cumbersome when they make a significant change in the requirements and most kids still have the old handbook and now you have all these photocopied sheets stuck in there.