Editing Scouting America (section)

==Membership==

===Main programs===
[[File:Kia Kima Cope Course.jpg|thumb|A [[Venturing (Boy Scouts of America)|Venturer]] traverses a [[COPE (BSA)|COPE]] High Ropes course.]]
Scouting America uses four primary programs to achieve its aims in Scouting:
* [[Cub Scouting (Boy Scouts of America)|Cub Scouting]] is available to children from kindergarten through fifth grade.
* [[Scouts BSA]] (formerly Boy Scouts) is the [[wikt:flagship|flagship]] program of Scouting America for youth ages 11 to 18; 10-year-olds can join after March 1 of their fifth grade year or if they have earned the [[Arrow of Light]] award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How old (or young) can a youth be to join Scouting? |url=https://www.scouting.org/about/faq/question1/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Boy Scouts of America |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Venturing]] is the program for ages 14 to 21.{{r|bsa524406a}}
* [[Sea Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)|Sea Scouting]] is the program for ages 14 to 21 focused on nautical activities.{{r|bsaseascouting}}

There are about 100,000 physically or mentally disabled Scouts throughout the United States. Anyone certified as disabled "may enroll in Scouting and remain in its program beyond the regulation age limits. This provision allows all members to advance in Scouting as far as they wish."{{r|grolier}}

===Other programs===
Scouting America offers several other programs and subprograms beyond regular membership:
* The [[Order of the Arrow]] is the organization's honor society for experienced campers, dedicated to the ideals of brotherhood and cheerful service. To be considered for membership one must live their life by the Scout Law, accomplish several requirements, and be elected by members of their unit.{{r|bsa02512}}
* [[Lone Scouts|Lone Scouting]] is a program designed to allow those who would otherwise not be able to become Scouts or Cub Scouts—usually due to residence in an overseas/isolated community or unusual circumstances—to participate in the Scouting experience.{{r|pett8}}
* STEM Scouts is a [[pilot program]] of Scouting America that focuses on [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]] learning and career development for boys and girls in elementary, middle, and high school.{{r|STEMScouts|USATodaySTEM}}
* [[Learning for Life]] is a school and work-site based program that is a subsidiary of Scouting America. It utilizes programs designed for schools and community-based organizations that are designed to prepare youth for the complexities of contemporary society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem.{{r|bsamembers|grolier|lfllearningforlife}} [[Exploring (Learning for Life)|Exploring]] is the worksite-based program of Learning for Life with programs based on five areas of emphasis: career opportunities, life skills, citizenship, character education, and leadership experience.{{r|bsa-discriminationlfl}} Learning for Life is not considered a regular [[Scouting]] program; it does not use the [[Scout Oath]], [[Scout Law]], uniforms, or insignia of regular Scouting. All Learning for Life programs are open to youth and adults without restriction based on gender, residence, sexual orientation, or other considerations other than age requirements.{{r|bsa-discriminationlfl|lflwhatisexploring}}

===Membership controversies===
{{Main|Scouting America membership controversies}}

[[File:2017 Capital Pride (Washington, D.C.) - 091.jpg|thumb|LGBT Boy Scouts and their supporters at 2017 [[Capital Pride (Washington, D.C.)|Capital Pride]] parade carrying flags and ''A Scout is equal'' sign]]
Unlike Learning for Life, membership in the regular Scouting America programs had been more restricted and controversial. Until the late 2010s, Cub Scouting or the program then-named Boy Scouting was open to boys only, but girls were permitted to join the Venturing, Sea Scouting, and Explorers programs in 1970. Women could also serve as adult volunteers in all programs in approximately the same time frame. On October 11, 2017, Scouting America announced that girls would be allowed to become Cub Scouts, starting in 2018, and be in the Scouts BSA program, starting on February 1, 2019.{{r|BSAPressRelease101117|NBC101117|FamilyFactSheet|FamilyCubScouts|ABC101117|NPR101117}}

Scouting America's religious requirements of its members have been controversial and inconsistent. Many volunteers within the organization believe that [[atheist]]s and [[agnostic]]s are welcome, and because of this, in many troops they are. However, in 2018, the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board "reaffirm[ed] its unequivocal commitment to the Declaration of Religious Principle as a fundamental component of the mission of the Boy Scouts of America".{{r|DutytoGod}} At the same meeting, it also stated that "[t]he recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgement of His favors and blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship and are wholesome precepts in the education of the growing members"{{r|DutytoGod}}. This position is inconsistent with the fact that the BSA has had [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] troops since 1920, and Buddhism is a [[nontheism|nontheistic]] religion which does not assert belief in a [[creator God]].{{r|BhuddismV}} The BSA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]] in 2016 which specifically gives ultimate authority over a participant's spiritual welfare to the individual Unitarian Universalist congregation. The MOU also specifically includes within Unitarian Universalist chartered troops [[humanism]] as an acceptable form of spirituality as well as Earth-centered religions.{{r|uua}}

In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in ''[[Boy Scouts of America v. Dale]]'' that Boy Scouts and all similar, private voluntary organizations have the constitutionally protected right under the First Amendment of freedom of association to set membership standards.{{r|bsalitig}} In 2004, the BSA adopted a new policy statement, including a "Youth Leadership" policy that disallowed members to continue in leadership positions in the event they were to hold themselves out as "open and avowed homosexuals.{{r|morally}}

At the Scouts annual meeting in April 2012, a leader from the Northeast presented a resolution that "would allow individual units to accept gays as adult leaders".{{r|Crary|FNCGayBan}} However, in July 2012, at the culmination of a review started in 2010, an 11-person committee convened by the BSA reached a "unanimous consensus" recommending retaining the current policy.{{r|pressrelease071712|Leitsinger}} [[Intel]],{{r|Rogoway, Mike}} [[United Parcel Service|UPS]],{{r|CBS News}} and [[Merck & Co.|Merck]]{{r|Schulz|marketwatch.com}} cut financial ties with Scouting America over the policy decision. Within the BSA National Executive Board, members James Turley, CEO of [[Ernst & Young]], and [[Randall L. Stephenson|Randall Stephenson]], CEO of [[AT&T]] and who was then "on track to become president of the Scout's national board in 2014"{{r|Post Blog BSA Ban}} and later was, publicly opposed the policy and stated their intention "to work from within the BSA Board to actively encourage dialogue and sustainable progress" in changing the policy.{{r|Examiner BSA}} On January 28, 2013, the BSA announced it was considering rescinding the ban on homosexuals, allowing chartered organizations to determine local policy.{{r|MemberPressRelease}}

On May 23, 2013, over 60% of the 1,400-member BSA National Council voted to remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation while emphasizing that any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is not allowed. The resolution went into effect on January 1, 2014,{{r|DVVote|MemStdRes}} but Scout leaders who were "open and avowed homosexuals" were still prohibited. The policy specifically states that BSA does not inquire into a person's sexuality.{{r|CNNGayScouts}} Gay rights groups hailed the decision, but vowed to press on until all gay members were accepted. Some churches and conservative members threatened to quit the Boy Scouts in response.{{r|Eckholm}} On June 12, 2013, the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] passed non-binding resolutions urging the BSA not to change their policy.{{r|Gryboski|Ellsworth}} In September 2013, a new scouting group called [[Trail Life USA]] was created, in support of what founders call "traditional, Christian" scouting.{{r|TrailLife|NPRTrailLife|WPTrailLife}} Subsequently, some [[Christian denomination]] congregations replaced their Boy Scouts of America troops with those of Trail Life USA.{{r|BPTrailLife}}

In May 2015, Boy Scouts of America President Robert Gates said it was time to end the ban on gay leaders. Gates said it "cannot be sustained" any longer. On July 10, 2015, the Boy Scouts of America Executive Committee agreed, and referred the matter to the National Executive Board.{{r|Gates}} On July 27, 2015, the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board voted to lift the organization's blanket ban on openly gay leaders and employees. Local chartering organizations are still permitted to set their own standards based on religious principle for selecting the adult volunteers for their unit.{{r|Richter}}

On January 30, 2017, the Boy Scouts of America announced that transgender children who identify as boys would be allowed to enroll in boys-only programs, effective immediately. Previously, the sex listed on an applicant's birth certificate determined eligibility for these programs; going forward, the decision would be based on the gender listed on the application.{{r|guardian-30jan2017}} Joe Maldonado became the first openly transgender child identifying as a boy to join the Scouts on February 7, 2017.{{r|nj-7feb2017}} In 2016, he was rejected from the Boy Scouts for being transgender, but the policy was changed after his story became nationally known.{{r|mercurynews1}}

On October 11, 2017, the Boy Scouts of America announced that girls would be welcomed into Cub Scouts beginning in late 2018, with an early adopter program beginning on January 15, 2018, in councils that wished to participate early. The announcement included the statement that girls in Cub Scouting will simply be called "Cub Scouts". The flagship program of Boy Scouts of America, previously known as "Boy Scouting", became known as Scouts BSA on February 1, 2019, when the program opened to girls. Members of Scouts BSA are known as "Scouts".{{r|CNNNameChange}} On November 6, 2018, the [[GSUSA]] filed a federal trademark lawsuit{{r|case}} seeking to block the BSA from rebranding itself simply as "Scouts";{{r|TimeGSUSA}} this is not the first time the two organizations have legally contested the use of the term ''scout''.{{r|Rothschild}}

On May 7, 2024, the BSA announced that it would change its name to Scouting America. The name change officially went into effect on February 8, 2025, the 115th anniversary of the organization. The Scout Oath, Law and program remain unchanged. The uniforms also remain the same but are embroidered with the new name.<ref name="cnn_20240507_scouting-america">{{cite news |author=Nicole Chavez |date=May 7, 2024 |title=Boy Scouts of America announces rebrand to 'Scouting America' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/us/boy-scouts-rebrands-scouting-america-reaj/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507220440/https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/us/boy-scouts-rebrands-scouting-america-reaj/index.html |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |access-date=May 7, 2024 |work=CNN}}</ref><ref>Official announcement by Boy Scouts of America - https://www.scoutingnewsroom.org/press-releases/boy-scouts-of-america-to-become-scouting-america/</ref><ref>Aaron on Scouting - What our organization’s name change means — and doesn’t mean — to Scouts and leaders - https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2024/05/07/what-our-organizations-name-change-means-and-doesnt-mean-to-scouts-and-leaders/</ref> The change does not affect the name of their flagship ''program'', "Scouts BSA" which was renamed from "Boy Scouts" in 2019.