Advancement already earned elsewhere

5.0.2.0. A Scout arrives with advancement earned somewhere else

Somebody joins your unit already holding rank, merit badges or awards that were not earned there. What counts, and what has to be looked at first, depends entirely on where the advancement came from.

Milestone

4.2.3.1. What "good standing" means May not apply

Scouts are in good standing with a unit as long as they have not been dismissed or suspended for disciplinary reasons, and they must also be in good standing with the local council and with Scouting America. In the rare case where a youth is not, communications will already have been delivered.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

4.2.3.1. Active time may be pieced together May not apply

Time counted as active need not be consecutive; Scouts may piece together any times they have been active and still qualify. That is stated in the active participation topic itself, not as a concession for people who left.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

4.2.3.4.2. Positions need not flow one to the next, and gaps are allowed May not apply

Any number of positions may be held as long as the total service time reaches the number of months required. Positions need not flow from one to the other and there may be gaps between them. Holding two at once does not shorten the months.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.2.0. The new unit leader may check the time with people who were there Optional May not apply

To confirm that time already spent meets the requirements, the new unit leader may check with past unit leaders, parents, guardians or others. It is a verification the leader may carry out, not a burden of proof placed on the Scout.

Task

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. The same route covers Scouting America members who advanced abroad May not apply

The procedure on this branch also applies to members of Scouting America who earned advancement in another Scouting association while they were living abroad. Coming home is not the returning branch if the advancement was earned in a different association.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. In person, or over electronic media May not apply

The Guide allows the meeting to be held over electronic media as an alternative to meeting in person, which matters when a family has just moved and the council office is a long way away.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. At least one adult from the receiving unit must be there May not apply Often forgotten

Along with the committee members, at least one adult leader or committee member of the receiving unit takes part. A meeting held between the council and the family alone is not the meeting the Guide describes.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Easy to leave out when a council arranges the meeting directly with the family. At least one adult leader or committee member from the receiving unit takes part alongside the advancement committee members.

5.0.4.0. Because Eagle is not equivalent to any other association's rank May not apply

The Guide gives the reason rather than leaving it as a rule: Eagle Scout is not considered equivalent to the highest award of any other Scouting association, so there is no award anywhere that can be exchanged for it.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. On previous effort that meets the requirements as written May not apply

The badges that may be awarded are those whose Scouting America requirements are met, as written, by previous effort and experience. It is a comparison against the actual requirements, not a rough equivalence between programmes.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. Expect badges still to earn, required or not May not apply

The Guide says plainly that this may leave a number of additional badges to earn — Eagle-required or not — before Eagle is in reach. Being credited with Life rank is not being most of the way to Eagle.

Milestone

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. Active participation May not apply

The active participation the rank requirement calls for, completed in a Scouting America unit. What counts as active is set out at 4.2.3.1.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. Position of responsibility May not apply

Service in a position of responsibility, completed in a Scouting America unit. The positions that count and how the months are measured are at 4.2.3.4.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. Scout spirit May not apply

The Scout spirit requirement, demonstrated in a Scouting America unit.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. The service project May not apply

The service project required for the rank, carried out under Scouting America.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. The unit leader conference May not apply

The unit leader conference, held with the leader of the Scouting America unit.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.2.0. Which of the two situations is this?

The Guide answers this question in two different places with two different answers. Time away from a Scouting America program is topic 5.0.2.0 and needs nobody's approval. Advancement from another country's Scouting association is topic 5.0.4.0 and needs a review.

Decision

Usually comes after 5.0.2.0. A Scout arrives with advancement earned somewhere else.

5.0.2.0. They were in Scouting America before and have come back May not apply

A member who left a Scouting program and is returning to one. Nothing on this branch is submitted, reviewed or approved by a committee.

Milestone

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.2.0. Which of the two situations is this?.

5.0.4.0. They earned advancement in another country's Scouting association May not apply

Youth from other countries who are living in the United States temporarily, or who have moved here, may register in a Scouting America unit and take part in advancement like anybody else.

Milestone

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.2.0. They are welcome to return if eligible and in good standing May not apply

Those are the only two conditions the Guide places on returning. Eligible means eligible for the program they are joining; good standing is the same test used everywhere else in advancement.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.2.0. They were in Scouting America before and have come back.

5.0.4.0. They may register in a unit and take part straight away May not apply

Registering and participating do not wait on anything below. The review exists only to decide what previous work counts toward a Scouting America rank.

Milestone

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.2.0. They take up where they left off, at the last verifiable rank or award May not apply

The returning member assumes the last rank or award that can be verified. Nothing between that point and the next rank is reopened.

Milestone

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.2.0. They are welcome to return if eligible and in good standing.

5.0.4.0. Is previous progress going to be counted? May not apply

Everything that follows applies only if progress from the foreign association is to be considered and applied to Scouting America requirements. A Scout who would rather start from the beginning simply does.

Decision

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.4.0. They may register in a unit and take part straight away.

5.0.2.0. It may be necessary to produce documentation, or move records Recommended May not apply

Verifying the last rank may mean producing advancement documentation, or having records updated, or having them transferred from another council. This is record keeping catching up with the Scout, not a condition placed on them.

Document

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.2.0. They take up where they left off, at the last verifiable rank or award.

5.0.2.0. They must NOT be made to redo requirements May not apply Often forgotten

A requirement that was signed off before the absence stays signed off. There is no provision anywhere for asking a returning Scout to prove again something they have already completed.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.2.0. They take up where they left off, at the last verifiable rank or award.

This is the sentence people most often act against, usually with good intentions: a unit that "just wants to see" a returning Scout demonstrate a skill again is requiring a requirement to be redone. If a leader is unsure the work was done, the answer is verification with the people who were there, not repetition by the Scout.

5.0.4.0. Present evidence of membership and advancement May not apply

The candidate must produce evidence of membership in the previous association and of the advancement earned there. Without it there is nothing for the committee to review.

Document

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.4.0. Is previous progress going to be counted?.

5.0.2.0. The time away must NOT be held against them May not apply Often forgotten

The absence itself is not a mark against the Scout and is not weighed at a board of review or anywhere else. The Guide states this and the previous point in the same sentence.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

A board of review is not the place to reopen why somebody left, or for how long. The Guide puts the absence out of scope in the same breath as it forbids redoing requirements.

5.0.4.0. Meet with the council or district advancement committee May not apply

The Scout meets members of the council or district advancement committee. This is not a board of review and it is not a unit decision.

Event

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.4.0. Present evidence of membership and advancement.

5.0.2.0. Time in a position, and time active, need not be continuous May not apply Often forgotten

Because neither active participation nor service in a position of responsibility has to be continuous, any periods before the Scout left count toward the next rank. This is why an absence does not reset progress toward Star, Life or Eagle.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

5.0.4.0. Previous work is reviewed and a rank is determined May not apply

The committee reviews the previous advancement work and determines which Scouting America rank the youth is qualified to receive.

Approval

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.4.0. Meet with the council or district advancement committee.

5.0.4.0. Any rank up to, but NOT including, Eagle Scout May not apply Often forgotten

The determination may reach Life rank at the highest. The procedure applies to all ranks except Eagle Scout.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.4.0. Previous work is reviewed and a rank is determined.

There is no route by which a foreign award becomes Eagle Scout, and no committee anywhere may grant it on this basis. The highest determination available here is Life.

5.0.4.0. Report the rank once it is determined May not apply

The rank is reported through Scoutbook Plus or another internet portal for reporting advancement, or on an advancement report. Until it is reported it is a decision nobody outside the room can see.

Task

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.4.0. Previous work is reviewed and a rank is determined.

5.0.4.0. If Life rank is established, merit badges can be credited too Optional May not apply

Where it can be established that Life rank has been achieved, the council or district advancement committee can go on to determine which Scouting America merit badges may be awarded.

Approval

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

Usually comes after 5.0.4.0. Report the rank once it is determined.

5.0.4.0. Five things must be done in a Scouting America unit regardless May not apply Often forgotten

No amount of previous advancement covers these. They are listed by the Guide and each must be completed in a Scouting America unit.

Requirement

You have not answered "Where did the advancement come from?" yet.

The five hold no matter how much was earned abroad: active participation, position of responsibility, Scout spirit, the service project, and the unit leader conference. They are what the rank is for, and there is no equivalence to be claimed against them.