See the 2010 Rank Advancement Changes pdf above in the document Library- these are the most up to date information- As presented at the January Roundtable.

If a young man is working toward rank advancement now and will have his requirments complete in the next 4 months or so, he will earn his rank advancement under the old requirements.  If a young man, however, does not advance in rank prior to Jan. 1, 2010, he will be subject to the new advancement requirements.

2010 Rank Requirement Changes

The centennial edition of the Boy Scout Handbook will soon be available, and with the new handbook come several rank requirement changes that will be in effect as of January 1, 2010.

Tenderfoot

• A Scout must teach another person how to tie a square knot using the EDGE model (explain, demonstrate, guide, and enable). He must also be able to discuss four specific examples of how he lived the points of the Scout Law in his daily life.

Second Class

• A Scout must discuss the principles of Leave No Trace and explain the factors to consider when choosing a patrol site and where to pitch a tent.
• He must explain what respect is due the flag of the United States.
• He must again discuss four examples of how he lived four different points of the Scout Law in his daily life.
• He must earn an amount of money agreed upon by the Scout and his parents and save at least 50 percent of it.

First Class

• An additional requirement to the 10 separate troop/patrol activities states he must demonstrate the principles of Leave No Trace on these outings.
• He must discuss four more examples of how he lived the remaining four points of the Scout Law in his daily life.

Life

• A Scout must use the EDGE model to teach a younger Scout a specified skill.

Star, Life, and Eagle

• Troop Webmaster and Leave No Trace trainer are two new leadership positions.

New National BSA policies now state that the boy no longer has a say in the make-up of the membership of the Eagle Board of Review. These policies are effective immediately. The Northern Star Council’s determination and guidance is as follows:

1.  There is no change to the existing Plan of Operations for Northern Star Council.
2.  The District’s and Units may establish their boards as they deem appropriate within the constraints of this new requirement.

For us that means we need to establish standing boards for each troop. (The Eagle board makeup is in the black box on page 30 of the attached PDF.) The make-up of the board remains unchanged -- all members must be age 21 or older, minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6, the Scoutmaster may sit in as an observer and no Assistant Scoutmasters may participate.

That said, that doesn't mean that several troops couldn't work together to establish their board members that include ASM's from troops other than the troop for the boy before the board. I would recommend the make-up as follows: a district rep, the troop advancement person, a sponsor rep, a local teacher or coach that knows the boys in the troop, a parent of a scout that has moved onto college (as long as not an ASM currently in the troop), a member of the local Eagle Scout Association, and or any one else that comes to mind to make up the board. Only one person has to be a registered scouter and that would be the district rep at a minimum.

Most troops are sponsored by churches and I would recommend asking the church to participate. Your individual recruiting, should factor in the
number of Eagle Boards you would typically do in a year, for some it be be just a few, perhaps 1 or 2 a year, for others you have many more scouts advancing 6-10 and the board will need to meet more often. Please assemble your boards so as to not put a burden on any one. The District Advancement team includes my self, Don Jacobson, Sheri Dodd, Steven Opheim, Paul Ansolabehere, Jim Elliott and Craig Reid. Please continue to coordinate through me and I will arrange a rep as our schedules fit - this has been very flexible in the past and I believe that we can continue this arrangement going forward. I will be at round table to answer any questions.