The Boy Scouts of America are officially allowing girls to join their signature group, the Boy Scouts, as of Friday.
The group for boys ages 11 to 17 will be renamed “Scouts BSA” and will begin allowing girls to join the scouting organization.
“I could not be more excited for what this means for the next generation of leaders in our nation,” Chief Scout Executive Michael B. Surbaugh told CNN on Friday.
“Through Scouts BSA, more young people than ever before — young women and men — will get to experience the benefits of camaraderie, confidence, resilience, trustworthiness, courage and kindness through a time-tested program that has been proven to build character and leadership,” Surbaugh continued.
{mosads}The organization’s kids’ program, Cub Scouts, has been accepting girls into its ranks since last year. Over 77,000 girls have reportedly joined the program so far.
The name of that program will reportedly stay the same, however, in addition to the name of the parent organization.
The organization first announced it would be welcoming girls into its programs in 2017.
Though many have praised the organization for its inclusiveness, others were not happy with the group’s historic decision.
Some on social media suggested the move was “politically correct.”
The Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) also issued a statement at the time that the “benefit of the single-gender environment has been well-documented by educators, scholars, other girl- and youth-serving organizations, and Girl Scouts and their families.”
GSUSA later sued BSA over a name change in a trademark infringement lawsuit. The group said in a statement to CNN on Friday that the move “does not change the position of Girl Scouts of the USA or our mission to serve girls, and girls only, and to foster their amazing leadership potential. We remain steadfast in our knowledge that Girl Scouts is the world’s single best leadership development program for girls.”