Boy Scouts demote boy with Down syndrome who wanted to be an Eagle Scout

Although the boy received all the merits necessary to obtain his desired rank, the national office is not satisfied with them.

15-year-old Logan Blythe has been a Boy Scout with the Utah National Parks Council, a local Boy Scouts of America affiliate, for the last six years.

According to The Mighty, the national Boys Scouts of America inexplicably suspended his project proposal although Blythe earned 22 alternative merit badges.

The national office stated that his previously-earned alternative merit badges would not be recognized, as they decided he didn’t really meet the requirements.

The father of the boy, Chad Blythe, is now suing the Boy Scouts of America after he received a text message explaining that they should have never approved him.

Due to the fact that it is hard for some kids with disabilities to earn traditional merits, Boy Scouts has an option for children with disabilities to earn alternative merit badges.

Despite his intellectual limitations, Blythe rose through the organization’s ranking system with some help of the council, which made accommodations when necessary.

“For example, if a task is cooking and the instructions are to pour a cup of flour, Logan won’t stop pouring. In situations like that, the local chapter has awarded him a badge regardless, for his effort,” Chad Blythe told Yahoo Lifestyle.

To become an Eagle Scout, the highest and most elite ranking in the Boy Scouts organization, boys must earn 22 different badges and demonstrate leadership through a service-based task.

“Logan’s mom and I came up with a service project Logan could do, newborn kits for the local hospital and distributing them, so Logan and I submitted this to the local Boy Scout leaders for their approval," Chad said.

Just one day after the local chapter approved his project, the leaders contacted Boy Scouts’ national office for its approval, they were instructed to suspend Logan’s Eagle project.

After a two-hour long meeting with the local chapter, Logan’s merit badges were revoked and he was demoted to Cub Scout rank, which is for children ages 10 and under.

When asked how Logan was taking his demotion, his dad explained that he was saddened by it, claiming that they now struggle to get him to wear his scout uniform.