Eagle Appeal Process

Eagle Appeal Process Chester County Council, BSA

The following procedures are to be used whenever a decision is appealed in the Eagle process. The official BSA policy, per the BSA “Advancement Committee Guide, Policies and Procedures” booklet, 2004 Printing is:

Two sets of circumstances may lead to the appeal of a decision.

First, if the unit leader or unit committee does not recommend the Scout for a board of review, or if the unit leader or unit committee does not sign the Eagle Scout application, the Scout or other interested party may appeal the decision at the next level.

Second, if the appropriate board of review does not recommend the applicant for the rank advancement, the decision may be appealed to the next higher level. The Scout, his leader, or his parents may appeal the decision. With all appeal applications, the final decision rests with the national Boy Scout Committee. In ascending order, levels are unit, district, local council, and national Boy Scout Committee.

On receipt of an appeal, the district or council committee responsible for advancement will provide for a prompt review to determine the facts. All parties must be interviewed either individually or as a group, but a confrontation should be avoided. A written report with all details must be prepared for the committee responsible for a decision or for forwarding to the national Boy Scout Committee, if necessary.

All appeals to the national Boy Scout Committee must be processed through the Scout’s local council. A copy of the Scout’s Eagle Scout Rank Application must be included when petitioning at the national level.

If an Eagle Scout application is delivered to the district advancement committee member for a board of review without the Scoutmaster’s or unit committee chairman’s signature, the board chairman will verify that they have chosen to not sign the application. The Eagle Scout board of review (except for an appeal board described below) must not be scheduled without these signatures. In this case the Scout will be notified in writing of the circumstances and what he needs to do if he desires to appeal the decision. He should address his appeal to:

District Advancement Chairman of ______District Eagle Scout Appeal c/o Chester County Council, BSA 504 South Concord Road West Chester, PA 19382

APPEAL.DOC 3/2/06 If a board of review can not reach a unanimous decision to approve the Scout’s Eagle application, he should be told the reasons for his failure to qualify. A discussion should be held with him as to how he may meet the requirements within a given period, if there is still time before his 18th birthday. Should the applicant disagree with the decision, or if the board feels there is nothing he could do to qualify, the appeal procedures should be explained to him. A report should be submitted promptly to the council office detailing the specific reasons the Scout did not meet the requirements. This report may be a joint report for all members, individual reports by the members, or a majority and a dissenting opinion. A form, titled “Report of Rejection by Eagle Scout Board of Review”, is available to use for this report if desired. In addition, all references and other materials from the board of review should be returned to the council office for use by an appeal board. The full Eagle service project report should be returned to the council office unless the Scout has been asked to do additional work relating to his project. The council office will send a letter to the Scout confirming decision and any agreements reached on the action(s) necessary for the advancement. The letter will also describe the appeal process. A copy of this letter will be sent to the Scout’s Scoutmaster. If the Scout chooses to appeal, he should send his request to:

Council Advancement Chairman Eagle Scout Appeal c/o Chester County Council, BSA 504 South Concord Road West Chester, PA 19382

Whenever an appeal is requested by the Scout or other interested party, the following people should be notified in writing of the appeal, the circumstances in question, the date of the unfavorable decision, and the schedule for the appeal process. Each should be given the opportunity to provide information to the appeal board in writing, in individual phone interviews, or in person in front of the appeal board:  The Scout  The Scout’s parents or guardians  The Scout’s Scoutmaster  The Scout’s troop committee chairman  The Scout’s troop institutional representative  The Scout’s troop institutional head  Each member of the denying board (if denial was from a board of review or appeal board)  The district advancement chairman  The district committee chairman  The district commissioner  The district executive  The staff person at the council office responsible for Eagle Scout application processing  The council advancement advisor  The council advancement chairman  The council scout executive

APPEAL.DOC 3/2/06 In addition, the following people should be solicited for any additional information they may have about the issues in question. Again, each should be given the opportunity to provide information to the appeal board in writing, in individual phone interviews, or in person in front of the appeal board:  writer’s of the Scout’s references  any past Scoutmasters the Scout has had in that troop or any other troop he has belonged to since joining Boy Scouts  any other people suggested by the Scout or others as having knowledge about the issues in question. In all cases, careful written notes should be kept of all telephone and face-to-face interviews for presentation to the full board, and to be passed along to further appeals if necessary.

If the appeal is necessitated because the Scoutmaster or troop committee chairman did not sign the application, the first appeal board is held at a district level, with the board consisting of 3 to 6 members chosen by the district advancement chairman. It is important that members for the board be chosen who can give a fair and unprejudiced hearing to both sides and fairly evaluate the information presented. Individuals with strong preconceived opinions about the Scout, in either direction, should not be selected.

If the decision of the original board of review, or of a district appeal board, is appealed, the council appeal board shall consist of 3 members appointed by the council advancement chairman, one member appointed by the council president, and one member appointed by the district chairman for the Scout’s local district. Again, it is important that members for the board be chosen who can give a fair and unprejudiced hearing to both sides and fairly evaluate the information presented. Individuals with strong preconceived opinions about the Scout, in either direction, should not be selected.

Appeals to a council level appeal board decision are made to the national Boy Scout Committee.

Prior to an appeal board, the Scout should be informed of what to expect, and what specific issues have been raised about his performance. Other issues may come up during the review.

If information is available in written form before the appeal board meets, it should be distributed to the members for their review prior to the date set for the board to meet.

The decision to approve a Scout for advancement must be unanimous. After an appeal board is held at either the district of the council level, the decision of the board should be explained to the Scout. If the decision is to deny his advancement, he should be given information on how to appeal the decision if he should choose to do so. A detailed written report describing who was on the board and the circumstances causing the decision must be prepared and signed by all members of the board. This report

APPEAL.DOC 3/2/06 may be a joint report for all members, individual reports by the members, or a majority and a dissenting opinion. A form, titled “Report of Rejection by Eagle Scout Board of Review”, is available to use for this report if desired. In addition, all references, interview notes, and other materials from the appeal board should be returned to the council office for use by a higher appeal board, or the national Boy Scout Committee. The full Eagle service project report should be returned to the council office. The council office will send a letter to the Scout explaining the reasons for the decision, and explaining the next step in the appeal process.

APPEAL.DOC 3/2/06 Report of Rejection by Eagle Scout Board of Review

Scout______Troop______Date ______

The Eagle Scout Board of Review for the scout named above has recommended that his application for Eagle Scout be turned down. The Board of Review felt that he had not met at least one of the six requirements listed below. Explain exactly what part of what requirement(s) were not met. Be as specific as possible. Describe any actions the Scout is to take to meet the requirement(s). Attach additional sheets if necessary. This report is to be forwarded to the Chester County Council which will send a letter to the scout explaining the decision and describing the appeal process. All reference letters, project report, and any other materials should be returned to the Council office with this report.

1. Be active in your troop and patrol for at least 6 months as a Life Scout. Met fully Met marginally (not grounds for rejection, explain) Not Met (explain) ______

2. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in your everyday life. Met fully Met marginally (not grounds for rejection, explain) Not Met (explain) ______

3. Earn a total of 21 merit badges (10 more than you already have), including the following: (a) First Aid, (b) Citizenship in the Community, (c) Citizenship in the Nation, (d) Citizenship in the World, (e) Communications, (f) Personal Fitness, (g) Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving, (h) Environmental Science, (I) Personal Management, (j) Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling, (k) Camping, and (l) Family Life. Met fully Met marginally (not grounds for rejection, explain) Not Met (explain) ______

APPEAL.DOC 3/2/06 ______4. While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of 6 months in one or more of the following troop positions of responsibility: Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor. Met fully Met marginally (not grounds for rejection, explain) Not Met (explain) ______

5. While a Life Scout, plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, any school, or your community. The project idea must be approved by your Scoutmaster and troop committee and approved by the council or district before you start. You must use the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook, No. 18-927, in meeting this requirement. Met fully Met marginally (not grounds for rejection, explain) Not Met (explain) ______

6. Take part in a Scoutmaster conference. Met fully Met marginally (not grounds for rejection, explain) Not Met (explain) ______

Board of Review Members agree with this worksheet Chair ______ yes no* Member ______ yes no*

APPEAL.DOC 3/2/06 Member ______ yes no* Member ______ yes no* Member ______ yes no* Member ______ yes no* * (complete a separate worksheet)

APPEAL.DOC 3/2/06