The Boy Scouts of America announced Tuesday that it would no longer be known under that name in order to become more inclusive.
The organization will be known as Scouting America.
The scouts have been battered by scandal related to thousands of sexual assault claims and a massive $2.4 billion bankruptcy reorganization in the wake of a legal settlement with victims.
“In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,” said Boy Scouts of America president and CEO Roger Krone to the Associated Press.
“Part of my job is to reduce all the barriers I possibly can for people to accept us as an organization and to join,” he added.
The Boy Scouts faced criticism from traditionalists after it decided to allow girls into the organization in 2017. It has since admitted more than 176,000 girls nationwide into the organization.
The name change will become official on the 115th anniversary of the organization on Feb. 8, 2025.
“Our mission really remains the same, the scout oath and scout laws still guide what we do,” said Bob Brown, vice president of communications for the Connecticut Yankee Council, the local chapter.
“We’re on a journey to evolve the scouting program, we’ve been on that journey for a number of years,” he explained to WFSB-TV. “This will certainly lead to more evolutions of scouting, but it’s all for the betterment of the young people in our program.”
The Yankee Council said that 14% of its 14,000 scouts were female.
After its bankruptcy reorganization, the Boy Scouts began paying off the massive settlement to the 82,000 victims who said they had been sexually abused as children in the group. The settlement was considered to be the largest in history for sexual abuse victims.
Among those critical of the decision was Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who registered his dissatisfaction on social media.
“With membership at historic lows, Boy Scouts of America decides to rebrand to make clear that ‘boys’ are no longer welcome. I’m sure that will help with recruiting,” the senator wrote.
Nationwide participation in the Boy Scouts has plummeted to just over one million young people. The organization hit a peak in 1972 when there were nearly 5 million young participants.
Here’s more about the decision:
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