Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts, pictured May 26, 2007 holding flags in Louisville, Kentucky, are allowing girls to participate in its programs. Getty Images

Boy Scouts of America (BSA) confirmed Wednesday that it expanded its programs to welcome girls. Girls would be able to participate in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts, the BSA's highest ranking. The revised programs will begin in early 2018, but the exact start date is to be determined.

"This decision is true to the BSA's mission and core values outlined in the Scout Oath and Law," Michael Surbaugh, the BSA's Chief Scout Executive, said in a press release Wednesday. "The values of Scouting — trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example — are important for both young men and women."

Here is everything essential to know about BSA's announcement and what to expect of its future programs:

  • The vote to welcome girls to Cub through Eagle rank was made unanimously.
  • Girls can participate, but BSA will not be 100 percent co-ed. Families will be able to enroll their son or daughter in BSA packs. Existing packs, however, will have the option of launching new girls-only packs. There will also be the option for existing packs to become co-ed or remain boys-only.
  • "Dens," which refers to small groups of six to eight members, will separate boys and girls.
  • The BSA has offered co-ed programming since 1971. The Exploring program, Venturing program and the STEM Scout pilot program have remained open to both boys and girls for years.
  • BSA has received requests from families and girls for years about seeking membership. A notable request extends back to 1995 when Katrina Yeaw filed a lawsuit in California against the BSA for allegedly discriminating against her and rejecting her application.
  • The decision comes two months after Girls Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) National President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan condemned the BSA for it's "covert campaign to recruit girls," according to a letter obtained by BuzzFeed. Hannan sent a letter to BSA's national president Randall Stephenson in August that urged him to focus on the 90 percent of American boys not enrolled in BSA.
  • BSA's growth plan could disrupt the Girls Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). Hannan claimed that BSA was "surreptitiously testing the appeal of a girls' offering to millennial parents," but she also argued that it would "result in fundamentally undercutting" the GSUSA.

Surbaugh said the decision to allow girls to join BSA's programs was "critical to [evolving] how our programs meet the needs of families interested in positive and lifelong experiences for their children."

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