Lehighton Area School District board members on Monday night agreed to seek a pro bono consultation from the Independence Law Center, a conservative religious rights legal group that has been working with other districts across the state.

Director Joy Beers introduced the proposal, suggesting the board meet with the organization to get “free legal advice” on Title IX issues.

“They are completely legally compliant,” Beers said of the group. “We can hear their opinion (on) Title IX and some of the other issues that are popping up.”

Lehighton is in the midst of crafting a policy aimed at regulating how books and other content are evaluated and chosen for the school.

Other board members, including Jeremy Glaush and Barbara Bowes, backed the plan to hear from the legal group.

“Free legal advice is free legal advice,” Bowes said. “Whether or not we decide to take it is something else.”

The Independence Law Center, which is based in Harrisburg and affiliated with the Pennsylvania Family Institute, has recently gained a presence in several school districts across Pennsylvania, particularly in the Susquehanna Valley area. School districts such as Elizabethtown, Penn Manor and Upper Adams have contracted the ILC, often amid public debate.

The South Western School District in York County contracted with the ILC and, according to a report in the Evening Sun newspaper, installed windows into a gender-inclusive bathroom in its middle school based on the group’s guidance to make the wash areas visible from the hallways. The windows were later boarded up following public outcry.

Penn Manor School District in Lancaster County voted 5-4 in August to add the firm as a “fee-free” special counsel. Two months later, Penn Manor’s board approved policies written with the help of the group. According to a WGAL report, “the policies impact what sports teams students can play on and what name or pronouns students go by in class.”

“If we have them here, the public can ask questions as well, and it’s not going to cost us X amount of dollars per hour,” Bowes said of the consultation with the ILC. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to agree with them ... but getting another point of view on something is helpful.”

Carrie Vail, a district parent, cautioned the board about allegedly free advice.

“Whenever anybody’s offering something free, there’s always an agenda. … I think the board should keep that in mind,” Vail said.

The conversation in Lehighton on Monday night shifted to concerns from the public on the center’s conservative stance. A past list of potentially contentious books in Lehighton based on their titles became a focal point.

“It’s concerning to people when you’re going to a conservative approach. … And we know where a lot of you stand on the book thing,” Megan Rodgers said.

Glaush responded by clarifying his views on conservatism, saying, “Just because I’m a conservative, (that) doesn’t mean that I disagree with someone else or I’m against everything. … It just means I’m a conservative.”

Glaush said Monday night Lehighton would not vote on its book policy in November, stating the need for the district to take a cautious approach and form a committee to iron out the details.

Some audience members linked the delay to the search for alternative legal advice.

“It’s coming off a little coincidental that we’re going to push off the book vote ... and now we’re going to look into another [law firm],” Nicole Collier said. “That’s just the appearance it gives.”

Glaush said the board wanted to ensure a thorough approach to the book vote, stating, “I think taking a slow, methodical approach to something … there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Beers said all discussions with the ILC would happen in public.

“We expect the community to pay attention. That’s what we want — community interaction,” Glaush said.