The Year Was 1978: Age Rule Dropped for Scouts with Disabilities

posted on Dec 30 by Guest Author in the Cerebral Palsy, Disability Law, Disability News, Muscular Dystrophy, Wheelchair Accessibility category

Persons with disabilities didn’t start fighting for accessibility when the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was enacted. Back in 1978, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was forced to rethink their age requirements after public outrage over denials of Eagle Scout applications from members with disabilities, who were denied because of age. The BSA changed their policy to allow Boy Scouts with disabilities to be enrolled past age 18, Cub Scouts to be enrolled past age 11, and Explorers to remain in their posts past age 21–all without a top limit on age.

At that time, the then new policy enabled 23-year-old Gregory Wittine of Baldwin, New York to become an Eagle Scout. According to Harvey L. Price, the chief scout executive, Wittine’s Eagle Scout badge was immediately sent to local scout officials after the policy change. Wittine, who has cerebral palsy, partly met the requirements for a badge by completing a 10-mile hike on his hands and knees. Yet his application was for a badge was denied.

The denial of his application and that of two New Jersey youths with disabilities sparked a public outcry and prompted the BSA national executive committee to hold a special teleconference during which they decided to change the age rules for persons with disabilities.

Wittine’s father, Ferdinand, said his son is “pretty elated”. He added that they received more than 300 letters of support since Gregory’s decade-long fight for the Eagle Scout badge was publicized.

Things like this in life are rare…are tremendous types of accomplishments,” beamed the elder Wittine.

Richard N. Golden, a Manhattan attorney and scoutmaster of the Boy Scout troop to which Wittine belonged, said the decision was “terrific news”.

“Gregory can be proud of the fact that he has been in the vanguard of establishing the rights of the handicapped and highlighting the special problems that they face,” he said. “I think he has done more, much more, than win the Eagle award for himself.”

Revising the age requirements didn’t help the two New Jersey Boy Scouts because their issue involved physical requirements–a part of the BSA policy that remained intact. In their case, the youths–who both had muscular dystrophy–were turned down because they substituted oral examinations for merit badge requirements that involved physical dexterity. Their scoutmaster approved their applications and later protested their denial.

The 1.2 million scouts in the BSA in 1978 included 60,000 youths with physical and mental disabilities who were active Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts or Explorer members. The age requirements for scouts with mental disabilities were previously lifted, according to a statement from the national BSA headquarters, which stated, “It was felt that it was reasonable and consistent to change the same membership criteria to the severely handicapped, including the blind, deaf or emotionally disturbed.”

For more on scouting with disabilities today, see our story: How Scouting & Disability Awareness Can Contribute to the Community

Another look back, from the UK scouting perspective:

Also, a follow-up archival story from 1984 can be found here: www.nytimes.com/1984/04/25/garden/helping-the-handicapped-up-the-ladder-of-scouting.html

Source:
news.google.com/newspapers?id=12lQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aloDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5940,3703605&dq

Image sources:
scouting.org
grandtetoncouncil.org
sycamorebsa.org
windsorstar.com