Boy Scouts To Allow Transgender Members

SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) — The Boy Scouts of America is changing its policy on allowing transgender scouts a month after the controversial removal of a scout in New Jersey.

The new policy will allow transgender children who identify as boys to join the organization.

The news comes a month after Joe Maldonado was kicked out of a Cub Scout Pack in Secaucus, New Jersey. The 8-year-old came out as a boy in the second grade and wanted to join his friends in the Boy Scouts.

Rebecca Rausch, a spokeswoman for the organization, emailed a statement Monday. She said the organization's leadership had considered the case, but the change was made because of the larger conversation about gender identity going on around the country.

"For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual's birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs," the statement said. "However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state."

Rausch said the enrollment decision goes into effect immediately.

"Our organization's local councils will help find units that can provide for the best interest of the child," the statement said.

The Boy Scouts have been at the center of recent social changes with policy shifts in recent years. In 2013, the group ended its ban on openly gay members and in 2015, it ended its ban on openly gay leaders.