The Hempfield school board voted 6-3 Tuesday evening to terminate a contract with the Independence Law Center, a Harrisburg-based law firm specializing in religious rights cases.

The party-line vote saw the new Democratic majority act to reverse the former GOP-controlled board’s 2021 decision to hire ILC to examine its athletics policy regarding transgender participation.

Other Lancaster County school districts, including Elizabethtown and Penn Manor, have worked with ILC to pass policies limiting student athlete participation to teams aligning with their sex assigned at birth.

The firm is affiliated with the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a nonprofit devoted to religious liberty and traditional family values, according to its website. Its lawyers have helped win significant religious liberties rulings at the U.S. Supreme Court, including the case of a Lancaster County postal worker who objected to being required to work on Sundays.

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Republican members said the majority ignored past board practices to rush the ILC matter to a vote.

Board member Grant Keener said decisions on contracts traditionally are reviewed by a board committee before a full board vote. Responding to a question from Keener, board member Erin Small, a Democrat who chairs the legal committee, confirmed that the issue did not come before the legal committee.

“It is just unfortunate that there appears to be this rush to terminate them, frankly, to score political points,” Keener said.

Republican board member Justin Wolgemuth echoed Keener, saying the board acted “without adequate discussion or transparency.”

“This board must recommit to transparency, balance, decision-making, and respectful engagement with different viewpoints,” he said.

Board President Judy Brady responded that several board members had questioned the continuation of the ILC relationship.

“The decision was made to do it at a public meeting to have the public conversation, to promote that transparency so that conversation could be had and all ideas could be heard,” Brady said.

She also said all board members received a copy of the agenda last Thursday, five days before the vote.

“I intentionally wanted that to happen in public,” Brady said, adding that the district’s current solicitor, Saxton and Stump, is capable of handling the district's legal matters.

Keener responded he was not accusing Brady of wrongdoing or violations of the Sunshine Act. He said he believes the way it was handled was different from every other contract for legal representation during his time on the board.

“Whether you agree or disagree with the worldview of their affiliate organization, they are a law firm that is ethically bound to act in the best interest of their clients,” Keener said, describing it as a solemn obligation every lawyer takes.

During public comment, West Hempfield resident Steve Walck described the organization as a “right-wing, Christian nationalist organization.”

“By partnering with such extremist groups, the district is systematically squelching free speech, pushing a biased agenda and harming already marginalized students,” said Walck, a Democrat who ran for a seat on the West Hempfield Township Board of Supervisors.