What you need to know about the Scouts BSA combined troop pilot program

Beginning this fall, some Scouting America councils will participate in a combined troop pilot program that will allow linked troops to operate as a single unit for the 2024-25 school year.

The pilot program is designed to test the strengths and weaknesses of a Scouts BSA combined troop option to best determine if it should eventually become a permanent option open to all Scouts BSA units.

“People have been asking for another model for Scouts BSA troops,” says Scouts BSA national program chair Angelique Minett. “They would like to be able to send their sons and daughters to the same troop, instead of having two separate troops.”

The combined troop structure would provide a third option in that it would allow linked troops to combine and operate as a single troop, meeting together with a single Scoutmaster and SPL.

Even if the combined troop structure is approved as a permanent program, every troop will still have the option to remain single gender if they choose to do so.

“This gives us an opportunity to evaluate a particular situation, and at the end of the pilot we come to a conclusion based off the feedback that we receive from the participants,” says Scouts BSA national director Garfield Murden. “We can decide to either move forward and implement this strategy into our program, or we might decide that now is not the right time, or it doesn’t meet the needs of our customers as we thought it would.”

Watch the video of Murden and Minett discussing the topic during last week’s episode of #TroopTalkLive, and read on for more details.

Why is Scouting America considering a Scouts BSA combined troop option?

Quite simply, it’s a continuation of the organization’s efforts to better serve its customers.

In this case, it’s a result of data that clearly shows that a combined troop option would be of great interest to nearly half of the families currently involved in Scouts BSA.

The Five Year Review of Girls in Scouts BSA survey that went out to members earlier this year showed that around 60% of Scouts BSA girls and around 40% of boys would prefer to be part of a combined troop, Minett says.

 “Now we need to do some research and find out how it how it could work,” Minett says. “That’s what the pilot is about.”

Who can participate in the pilot?

All of Scouting America’s councils were recently given the opportunity to opt into the pilot. Many said yes; some said no.

The councils who chose to not participate are operating as usual. The councils who agreed to participate are in the process of contacting linked troops to gauge their interest in participating.

For now, councils are focusing their efforts on contacting linked troops as opposed to single-gender troops, simply because linked troops already have much of the structure in place to operate together and would be easier to separate should the pilot not move forward once it’s complete.

“We really want to have our linked troops take part because they’re better prepared from the standpoint of already having a male troop and a female troop and merging the two troops is not as much of a complicated task,” Murden says.

Participation is entirely optional for all troops who are contacted.

What if my troop wants to participate but hasn’t been contacted?

First, you should contact your local council to find out if the council has opted into the pilot. If they have, then it’s time to have a discussion with your Scouts and their families about whether participating in the pilot is a good fit for your troop.

“It’s really about giving the chartering organizations a choice,” Murden says. “Because there are some chartering organizations that would like their units to stay single gender, and there are some chartering organizations that would like to offer a program to both boys and girls together. And there are some families who may feel it would better meet their needs to stay single gender, and that’s OK. They should have that option.

“We are simply trying to give people the choice to better meet the needs of their families.”

If a linked troop is part of a council that has opted into the pilot and decides they want to participate, they should discuss right away how they would handle going from two leaders to one in positions such as Scoutmaster and SPL.

The councils can supply guides to help facilitate these discussions.

What will be required of the units who participate in the Scouts BSA combined troop pilot?

Two things.

First, they must operate their program in accordance with the guidance found in the Scouts BSA handbooks while abiding by all youth protection and safety standards.

Second, they must agree to give honest feedback on a monthly basis for the duration of the pilot, which begins in September 2024 and ends in July 2025.

Murden and Minett agree that everything doesn’t have to be sunshine and rainbows all the time. In fact, it probably won’t be. There will be challenges, which is exactly why the pilot program is happening in the first place.

“We need to hear what is working and what isn’t working and what is challenging so we can create resources and support those units if the pilot is approved,” Murden says.

Who will ultimately decide if the combined troop model becomes a permanent option?

When the pilot concludes in July 2025, all of the data and responses from the units will be collected and presented to Scouting America’s national executive board, which will then decide whether to approve or not approve combined troops as a permanent option.

The key word being “option.”

“There are lots of troops out there who are going to be better served if they keep things the way they are, and we are encouraging that,” Minett says. “If this moves forward, it will become an option, so chartered organizations can continue doing what they’re doing, or they’ll have a new option to serve their communities.”

Photos from the Scouting America archives