Boy Scouts of America, as it has been known for 115 years, is now officially Scouting America. The name change went into effect on Saturday.
The organization announced the name change last spring, almost exactly one year after emerging from a three-year bankruptcy tied to the largest child sex abuse case involving a national organization in U.S. history.
The name change coincides with the organization’s aim to be more inclusive − a little more than five years after girls were permitted to join Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
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While the name change may feel drastic to onlookers, Rhett Hillard, scoutmaster of Scouting America Troop 50 in Fulton, Missouri, said the new name doesn’t appear to be on the minds of people he works with in the organization.
It “doesn’t rank highly” in comparison to the other changes the organization has made over the past six to seven years, he said.
As new handbooks are printed, headquarters change signage and websites are updated, here’s what to know about the Scouting America name change.
Why the name change?
“The board, executive committee and myself, we kind of looked at where we were and said, ‘Probably now would be a good time,'” Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone told USA TODAY of the name change, citing the organization’s exit from bankruptcy and growth since allowing girls to join.
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In January, the organization reported that the fund had paid about $70 million to approximately 12,300 survivors of 58,000 claims submitted.
As for membership, from 2023 to 2024, Scouting America saw a 1.43% increase, according to the organization’s Membership Highlights, presented at the 2024 National Annual Meeting. Specifically, Cub Scouts saw a 4.68% increase, while Scouts BSA experienced a 3.15% decrease, the highlights say.
Krone said co-ed scouting organizations also represent the “global model.” Scouts Canada, Scouts Australia, Scouts UK, and The Singapore Scout Association are just a few of countless scouting organizations around the world that welcome both boys and girls.
How else is the organization changing?
Largely, the changes associated with the new name are cosmetic. The organization’s mission and programming is not changing.
The iconic navy blue Cub Scout uniform and tan Scouts BSA uniform will “essentially be the same,” Krone said. However, these uniforms do feature “Boy Scouts of America” or “BSA” sewn over the right shirt pocket. Krone said a new sew-on patch to cover the old name is available at Scout Shops and online. The patch is $2.
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The Cub Scout and Scout BSA flags have also been updated to reflect the new name.
A new handbook has been printed and the website has been updated to feature the new name and logo. Over the next year or two, Scouting America buildings will be updating their exterior signage, Krone said.
Though the program formerly known as Boy Scouts, now Scouts BSA, includes the “Boy Scouts of America” acronym, it doesn’t appear that this name will be changing, at least not right away. Scouts BSA is trademarked, so the name will remain for now, according to “Scouting,” the official magazine published by Scouting America.
What are people saying?
Since Scouting America began allowing girls to join in 2018-2019, there has been pushback.
“Now, I agree that scouting shouldn’t be something that’s just exclusive to boys, but isn’t that the whole reason why there’s Girl Scouts? When scouting exists for both boys and girls and the boys organization switches it to allow girls in it, it almost implies that if you’re a Girl Scout, you’re not a real scout,” Ryan Quinlan, known as But That’s My Opinion on social media, said in a TikTok video last year.
In 2018, Girl Scouts of America filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Scouting America, claiming the organization didn’t have the right to use terms like “scout” or “scouting” by themselves when rebranding the Boy Scouts program to Scouts BSA. However ultimately, in 2022, the two organizations entered into an agreement to end the litigation.
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For girls who have been a part of the Scouting America organization, the recent name change is validating.
Sara Rubelee. 14, has been a member of Scouting America Troop 235G in Springfield, Missouri since 2017, when the organization opened an early adopters program for girls. Now, Sara is working on her Eagle Scout Project − collecting musical instruments for an under-privileged school in her community.
Troop 235G is an all girls unit. At the Cub Scout level, packs are co-ed, but at the Scouts BSA level, troops are separated by gender.
Joining the organization when she was in the second grade, Rubelee said she enjoys “every second” of it, from attending summer camp and earning merit badges − Oceanography is her favorite − to competing in the annual Pinewood Derby and getting started on her Eagle Scout Project.
“All these events, and so many more, have absolutely changed the way I view the world, and the way I can help make it a better place,” she said. “This organization has led me to having so many friends and gaining new ones almost everywhere I go. As scouting as evolved, so have the scouts, but the morals have always stayed the same: helping youth grow into successful young adults and prepare them for the promising future ahead of them.”
Krone said the changes the organization has made over the past few years are in attempt to keep up with the “youth of today.”
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But not everyone in the organization feels the name change is for the best reasons.
Scoutmaster Hillard said he thinks it’s “a money issue.”
“They’re mostly dwindling numbers, wanting to bolster enrollment numbers in the organization. I never really heard a great reason,” he said.
In 2018, Scouting America reported that about 2.3 million members made up the organization, down from 2.6 million in 2013, USA TODAY previously reported.
Girls have been involved with the program since 1969
It’s been a bit longer than just the past decade that girls have been able to join Boy Scouts, now Scouting America.
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Adult women have been able to be a part of the organization for even longer, with the creation of the Den Mother position in 1936, according to the Scouting America website. The Den Mother position, originally only open to women, is a leadership role within a Cub Scout den.
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