appealtogeteagle

[mumofscout]

My son's EBOR could not come to unaminous decision for him to advance to eagle scout,saying he didn't demonstrate the Scout Spirit. His SM would not sign this off at the SM conference. They gave him a 3-month challenge which he accepted and succeeded at & still was not awarded Eagle Rank. Now he & an adult(parent) need to write a letter of appeal. However, this is new to us & there seems to be no set forum of information to submit to National. Any help with what type of content they are looking for in an appeal letter would be greatly appreciated. Help, from disappointed mum.

[CalicoPenn]

The FIRST time your son was denied the Eagle rank, the folks doing the BOR should have (as they are required to do) provided your son the reason for the denial in writing and the information he would need to appeal the decision to the Council (your first point of appeal). That information would include the contact information at Council.

 

What you need to do now is contact the head of your son's 2nd BOR and demand that they provide you with the reason for the denial, in writing and in detail - and give them a deadline - no more than one week, and that they give you the contact information at Council to begin the appeal process. Your first appeal should be to the Council Advancement Committee.

 

I'm sorry you have to go through this because some adults in your son's life are playing power trip games with your son. Scout Spirit is the most subjective load of BS that BORs use to hold Scouts back.

 

In the meantime, see if you can find out what Council your son's Troop is in, and phone them for the information as well. Just call and ask to speak to someone about appealing a denial of Eagle rank. Make sure you tell them that your son was denied the Eagle rank TWICE in a BOR, and was not given the information at the first BOR needed in order to mount an appeal.

 

Please let us know how it turns out.

 

Calico

 

 

[Beavah]

Yah, hi mumofscout. Welcome to da forums.

 

Can I ask how old your son is? Does he have more time to work on things or will he shortly be past his 18th birthday?

 

Can I ask whether your son's EBOR was conducted at the troop level or at the district?

 

Calico is right; at the conclusion of the EBOR they should have given him information on what work he still needed to do, and what his appeal options were. They do this orally, but should then follow-up in writing.

 

I think if your son still has some time left, a good route might be to go back to his SM and keep working on things, eh? We can all improve, and his Eagle will mean more if he convinces those who know him best in the unit. If the Scout Spirit issue turns around some more serious behavior - bullying, negative influence on younger boys, crime committed in the community or in the school, then that's rough, eh? Most of us would want quite a bit of time to pass to demonstrate the lad had "turned a new leaf."

 

In any event, it's a bit hard to answer your question because your terms are a bit off. Typically, if a SM doesn't sign an application, then that requires an appeal. That may have been what happened the first time, rather than a BOR (?). But at this point, I'm going to assume that the Scoutmaster, the Troop Committee, and the troop-level Eagle Board of Review did not approve your son.

 

In that case, the appeal goes to the district advancement committee. You, and/or your son, simply write a respectful letter detailing the issue and why you feel the decision of the BOR should be reversed, and deliver it to the District Advancement Chair to be considered by the District Advancement Committee. Include any documentation yeh feel is appropriate. It is polite to copy the board of review chair and the SM and committee chair of your troop.

 

If your son's EBOR was conducted at the District level, or if the district denies your appeal, you may appeal to the Council Advancement Chair/Committee in the same way.

 

If I may suggest, as a parent, it's sometimes worth taking a deep breath, stepping back, and looking at bigger lessons. Occasionally, as Calico suggests, weak or odd BSA adults are just playing games with kids because of their own issues, and that's what the appeals process is for. More often than not, though, the adults are good people who are trying to teach your son and other boys in the troop lessons about behavior and responsibility. Stop to consider whether there really might be some lessons here that may be hard, but are good ones for your son to learn now rather than later in life. Has he really been the best example and leader he could be in his troop? In the rest of his life?

 

I expect that's something for your son to answer personally. If I may also suggest, appeal letters always look best when coming from the Scout.

 

Good luck with it, eh?

 

Beavah

 

[Gold Winger]

"I'm sorry you have to go through this because some adults in your son's life are playing power trip games with your son. "

 

How can you say that? We have no idea why Scout spirit was denied. Did he spray paint his school? Lose his license for for DUI? Simply show an unwillingness to be either friendly or helpful?

[mumofscout]

Thanks to all for your reply. My son was 18 in August 2007 and submitted his paperwork a week before his 18th birthday. I'll not boast about his behavior, as he has ADD & impulsive behavior. He has tried to behave well but he & his SM seemed to have a difference of opinion & communication didn't always go smooth. However, I have not received anything in writing from the EBOR. There was district representative at both EBORs. He was able to have the EBOR until Nov.07 because there were many other scouts applying for Eagle at the same time. I know I need to step back, and take a deep breath. But my son's toughest subject in school was essay's & writing. They say push, keep him going, don't let him slack & then with the challenge, we were told to do nothing. We did nothing, so after all these years of constant vigilance, were told he still doesn't have enough of the Scout spirit at the next level or the extra mile which is required to become an eagle. I just feel so lost & bitter & I don't want to be. That's why I'm asking for guidence in this matter to help my son & to write a letter of appeal & extension for eagle BOR as the adult(parent) to write to the Council (appeal) & National (extenstion) level. Thanks again.

[Bob White]

Momofscout,

 

It is very unlikely that your son will be granted an extension. That usually only happens when a medical condition renders the scout incapable of working on his advancement.3

 

Your son's only chance is to be able to show that the A) the requirement was judged incorrectly, or B) the Council did not follow the appeal process correctly.

 

So the important things you need to note are;

1)When were you informed of the appeal process?

2)When did you recieve a written statement from the bor stating what requirement was not completed and how in a objective meqasurable way could the requirement be completed according to the BSA requirement (be aware that the bor cannot require the scout to do anything not stated in the BSA requirement.)

 

If you were not given written appeals instruction after the first board, or if the board required your son to do something beyond the requirement then your son has a chance of the board's decision being overturned.

 

 

 

[Beavah]

Yah, mumofscout, thanks for the info. Practically speakin', there's no way for your son to do any more as he's past age 18 and now past the 6 month BOR limit. So ignore my first suggestion, eh?

 

From what yeh describe, the BOR was conducted at the troop level, so the appeal goes to the District Advancement Chair if your son chooses to pursue it. If your son has a hard time writing, it's OK if you help him or even if you file the appeal.

 

It's important that yeh stay respectful, and simply detail how yeh feel he met each of the requirements, where communication may have broken down, how hard your son worked, and how he struggled to overcome his personal challenges. No need to follow any set format or form. As BobWhite suggests, a lot may depend on exactly what was communicated to your son as being deficient in his first appeal/BOR, and whether he truly addressed those expectations in the "3 month challenge" you describe. If they "moved the goalposts" between the two BORs, that's something a committee can see clear to correcting in an appeal.

 

A call to your troop's committee chair or to the district representative at his BOR should get you an outline of the reasons the board felt it appropriate to support the SM in not endorsing your son for Eagle, and yeh can ask for it in writing. You or your son should address their concerns in your appeal if yeh can.

 

Anticipate it takin' a month or two from when you file to get an answer from the district. After that, if you choose to pursue it further, yeh can appeal to council in the same way.

 

I have to say that while you should pursue it, yeh should also be prepared for "no" as an answer, eh? When the SM and troop committee don't endorse a candidate and the district rep. supports a decision (twice), it's a fairly strong signal. Behavior issues are tough ones, as you admit.

 

Good luck with it again,

 

Beavah

 

[ScoutNut]

From the 12 Steps from Life to Eagle, on the back of the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook -

 

"If the candidate does not meet the requirements, he is asked to return and 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. Should the applicant disagree with the decision, the appeal procedures should be explained to him. A follow-up letter must be sent to the Scout confirming the agreements reached on the action(s) necessary for the advancement. If the Scout chooses to appeal, the board should provide the name and address of the person he is to contact."

 

From BSA Board of Review Training -

 

"When can appeals occur?

 

First, if the troop leader or troop committee does not recommend a Scout for a board of review or fails to sign an Eagle rank application, the Scout (or other interested party) may appeal that decision to the next highest level.

 

Second, if a board of review does not find favorably for the candidate, the Scout may also appeal to the next highest level. This appeal can be taken by the Scout, his leader, or the Scout's parents. An appeal from a local board of review would be taken to the district advancement committee, and from there to the council advancement committee, and finally to the National Boy Scout Committee.

 

When an appeal is made, the committee to whom the appeal is addressed will promptly review the facts. All parties must be interviewed by the committee, hopefully without confrontation. A written report with all details will be prepared by the reviewing committee and forwarded to the National Boy Scout Committee.

 

Appeals to the National Boy Scout Committee are made only through the local council. There is no direct appeal. In Eagle matters, a copy of the Scout's Eagle Scout Rank Application must accompany the national appeal."

 

 

As per the second quote, you, as his parent, are allowed to make the appeal. It does not sound like the proper procedure was followed at all down the line. Call your Council NOW and find out who to talk to about an appeal of an Eagle BOR.

 

 

 

 

[FireKat]

Just a little warning, Be ready for hard feelings all around. We had one appeal up to national - a very long, painful process I never want to happen again.

[prof]

Mum,

I'd be curious to know about the 3 month challenge. Were there specific things that your son was asked to do (or not do)? How was this communicated?(in writing?)How was passing/failing the challenge determined?

Steve