Boy Scouts will soon be known simply as Scouts, as girls join their ranks

Boy scouts.
(Image credit: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

The Boy Scouts of America has renamed its flagship program.

Instead of the Boy Scouts, the program will be called Scouts BSA, NBC News reported Wednesday.

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Cub Scouts, the program for kids between 7 and 10 years old, has already admitted 3,000 girls, reports USA Today. Cub Scouts will not change its name. Meanwhile, Boy Scouts has historically been restricted to boys between 11 and 17 years old. Beginning next year, the newly-named Scouts BSA will allow girls to enroll, but BSA official Mike Surbaugh told NBC News that individual scout groups will still be largely single-gender.

"We're trying to find the right way to say we're here for both young men and young women," said Surbaugh. Read more at NBC News.

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Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.