Elizabethtown Area school board approves Independence Law Center as special counsel

• By Ashley Stalnecker/LNP | LancasterOnline

Elizabethtown Area school board voted 8-1 Tuesday night in favor of adding the religious rights law firm Independence Law Center as special counsel.

Board member James Read was the sole dissenting vote.

“I believe that rejecting this proposal would go a long way in reaching out to the other side, whatever that might be,” Read said, identifying himself as a conservative Christian. “And perhaps begin the process of narrowing the gap between the two factions, eliminating partisanship and maybe even a beginning of collaboration with both groups who do share many of the same concerns.”

The Independence Law Center is a Harrisburg-based nonprofit law firm that has worked with typically Republican-dominated school boards to craft policies on student access to library books and rules for transgender students’ use of restrooms and locker rooms.

All members on the Elizabethtown Area school board were elected as Republicans — including five who were newly elected to the board in the November 2023 election. The newly elected members — Tina Wilson, Menno Riggleman, Kelly Carter, James Gilles and Lynda Shrum — ran on a campaign of transparency, accountability and bringing schools “back to the basics.”

Wilson said the board wanted to enlist the services of the ILC to guide the district in navigating new federal Title IX guidance. Title IX is the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination.

The Biden administration recently added new protections for public school students based on sexual orientation and gender identity, part of an overhaul to the law that also added rights for victims of sexual assault on college campuses but did not specifically address transgender student athletes.

“I really don’t understand why it’s being made into something that’s about religion or LGBTQ,” Wilson said. “Yes, this is a Christian firm, and they do believe in family values, but that doesn’t have anything to do with policies. They can’t put things like that in a policy.”

The ILC is the legal arm of the Pennsylvania affiliate for the Family Research Council, which is designated as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that works to fight intolerance and ensure civil rights. Board members in other Lancaster County school districts have cast criticisms of the law firm as misinformation.

Resident Tom Miller, who said he was in favor of the board using the ILC as special counsel, criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center, saying it’s run by a “wealthy white communist.”

Superintendent Karen Nell didn’t say whether she was in favor or against the ILC but told the board she considers the school district’s mission when making a difficult choice.

“Think about what our mission is here at the school district — that every child will learn, live and thrive in a global community,” Nell said.

Services offered by the ILC would be in addition to — not in place of — the two solicitors the board appointed in May: Lancaster-based Saxton & Stump and New Britain-based Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams.

‘A divisive organization’

Several residents of the over 90 in attendance Tuesday urged the board to stick with the advice of its current solicitors rather than enlist the advice of the ILC, which they claimed is biased, would push Christian ideology and create policies that are discriminatory toward LGBTQ+ students.

“I’m a lawyer. The more of us that get involved, the worse it gets,” said resident Daniel Stevenson. “You’re better off sticking with the solicitors you have.”

A majority of those who spoke during public comment Tuesday voiced opposition to the law firm; 11 supported the board in their decision to bring on the ILC as legal counsel.

“The ILC is a divisive organization, and I am saying that to you as a Christian woman from a Republican household,” said resident Vicky Martin. “I do not support pushing specific views or beliefs into public school policy. Please do not divide this community any more.”

Despite hearing from 26 residents who oppose the ILC, a few speakers in favor of the law firm claimed that the majority of the community sided with the board in its decision to work with the ILC.

“Your desire to let the ILC give you some input is encouraged by many of us,” said resident Don Lamb, who is a pastor at Lifegate Church in West Donegal Township. “Eliciting the support of the Independence Law Center is not going to make the world implode or cause time to stand still. They are a great resource.”

Resident Cindy Pinnell, who supported working with the ILC, said that “the other side” is growing, but that doesn’t mean it’s in the majority.

“Honestly I don’t know much about them, but if the other side is coming down hard on this choice, it must be a worthwhile venture,” Pinnell said.

Rally before meeting

Approximately 80 people gathered in front of the Elizabethtown Area High School prior to the meeting to urge the board to vote against enlisting the services of the ILC as part of a rally hosted by Elizabethtown Common Sense 2.0.

“As leaders, you have the power to either heal our community or further divide it,” Elizabethtown Common Sense 2.0 President Alisha Runkle said during public comment. “Choosing the ILC is like throwing gasoline on a fire, and it’s a clear signal to the community that you are unwilling to hear any voice that does not agree with your own.”

Elizabethtown Common Sense 2.0 is a group that promotes policies that come from a place of inclusiveness and understanding, according to its website. The group was revived from a group that initially formed when in 1996, the former Elizabethtown Area school board pushed a pro-family resolution that did not tolerate LGBTQ+ couples and families.

During public comment, some speakers likened the current board and its values to those of the 1996 school board.

“Our community doesn’t need to live through the anxiety and trauma that some of us experienced in the 90s,” resident Kenneth Schaffer said. “I would recommend the board vote no on this proposed action.”

Others who voiced opposition to the ILC questioned what they called a lack of transparency in opening discussion on the law firm during the summer months when school is out of session and families are more likely to be out of town on vacation.

Kristy Moore, who has unsuccessfully run for school board as a Democrat three times, reminded the board that she urged them in March not to enlist the services of the ILC.

Moore has said she based her concern on the fact that the board members who won seats on the board in November filled out a campaign survey from the Pennsylvania Family Institute, the Pennsylvania affiliate of the Family Research Council.

In March, board President Stephen Lindemuth told LNP | LancasterOnline that the board was not considering using the ILC’s services at that time. Lindemuth has since told LNP | LancasterOnline that in March he was still under the impression that the board would be considering other solicitors in the Lancaster-Lebanon area.

“There did not seem to be much momentum for (contacting other solicitors), so I contacted ILC after the interest of at least three board members was made known to me,” Lindemuth wrote in an email to LNP | LancasterOnline June 14.

Lindemuth also said the ILC will offer its services at no cost to the district and that it would provide legal assistance free of charge “in the rare instance of any legal challenges.”

“To the best of my knowledge, as stated by ILC, none of the policies enacted by them in local school districts in our area have encountered any legal challenges,” Lindemuth wrote in his June 14 email.

Residents in opposition to the ILC questioned what nonfinancial costs might be associated with the free service, however.

“Free is not always a good deal,” resident Daniel Stephenson said. “Some people see free and run to it. I think wiser people see free and ask what’s the catch.”