Boy Scouts will allow transgender kids who identify as boys to enroll in programs

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

last updated 31 January 2017

On Monday, the Boy Scouts of America announced it will allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its boys-only programs.

Registration will now be based on the gender a child or parents list on the scout application; previously, it was based on the gender listed on a birth certificate. A spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts said in a statement the change was made because of the conversation about gender identity in the United States, but the organization also considered a case in New Jersey of an 8-year-old who was asked to leave his Cub Scout troop after parents and leaders discovered he is transgender. This decision goes into effect immediately.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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