But Littleton wasn't done with education issues.
In response to a November 21 Denver Post piece on eight Front Range teachers charged with sexual misconduct in six months, she circulated an op-ed titled "Sex Misconduct Haunts Schools, But Why?" In it, she wrote: "Why are we surprised that sexual misconduct haunts schools? Are there clear cultural pro social norms in place to prevent this from happening? I think not. Try to find someone who is willing to expect more from individuals and adolescents when it comes to self regulating around drugs, alcohol, tobacco, violence and particularly sex. If you should find that rare individual, they are probably battle weary from being labeled as fear and shame based, ideologically driven, harmful, old fashioned, unrealistic, religious and uninformed."
Although then-Governor Bill Ritter turned down the anti-abstinence funds, Colorado Board of Education member Peggy Littleton decided to go after them.
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Littleton went on to explain that there was more information on sex available than ever before, and therefore people were more confused than ever before. She called the 1960s the beginning of the end of a sexually responsible society, moving through Kinsey on to the development of SIECUS, Hugh Hefner's Playboy and the founding of Planned Parenthood as proof.
Littleton closed with this: "I encouraged the Colorado State Board of Education to request that the Colorado Department of Education apply for the Title V grant. I am happy to say this will happen by December 10, 2010. We can legislate and revoke or suspend teacher licenses all we want as a penalty for after the fact sexual misconduct by educators, but until we empower students to recognize inappropriate sexual advances, learn about risk avoidance and convey the message that sex with anyone, anywhere, anytime is not healthy we will not see any decrease in this type of criminal behavior."
Here's how Littleton "encouraged" that application for the Title V grant: After Jones told her that the CDE would not be sending a letter, Littleton sent the commissioner a note encouraging him not to be "beholden to a governor who is gone by the end of the year when this [Title V] will have an impact for years to come."
Littleton didn't end her quest for Title V funding there. A Department of Health and Human Services program specialist told Mackenzie that an authorized representative could issue a letter that would allow the education department to apply for the funds on behalf of the state. As she noted in an e-mail to Littleton (on which Bob Schaffer, the former congressman who was then chair of the Board of Education, was copied), "All we need is an opinion letter from the AG that the CDE has authority to apply for these funds." So Littleton contacted the attorney general's office, looking for that legal loophole.
That move inspired this September 1 e-mail from Jones to Elaine Berman, the Colorado Board of Education commissioner representing Denver. "Peggy has not given up on Title V and plans to challenge the Governor's decision. She has asked the AG's office for an informal opinion...I think Bob [Schaffer] is going to have to stop this or the board is going to have to make a choice on how they want to proceed. Having one member do their own thing is the beginning of the end of getting the state's work done for students. I'm becoming very concerned about Peggy's behavior and think the board may need to decide how they want to handle their colleague. She has a right to do what she thinks is best, but not working with her colleagues is an interesting way to do it."
In her reply to Jones, Berman said: "An individual board member should not be able to request an opinion from the AG's office. You should talk to the chair about this precedent."
"Governor Ritter made very clear his decision to not apply for this funding," Berman recalls. Given this country's fiscal woes, she says, "every program that is being funded by the government needs to be scrutinized. And funded programs should not be ideologically motivated, which I believe this [Title V] was."
"This is not unusual," Littleton says of her appeal to the AG's office last year. "State Board of Education members frequently interact with CDE staff on many topics and provide direction and conduct inquiry to be well informed before items come to a vote of the board. It is the prerogative of state board members to have access to and advice from the AG's office to clarify statute."
On September 16, 2010, the Colorado Board of Education voted to seek Title V funding — circumventing the governor. This move was made possible by a letter that soon came from the Colorado Attorney General's Office.
A federal provision allows for a state's attorney general to rule on who can and cannot apply directly on the state's behalf for federal funds. According to the Colorado Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contacted the office, asking for an opinion letter stating that the board could independently seek funding.
On September 22, 2010, Senior Assistant Attorney General Tony Dyl wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, citing Colorado law that allowed his agency to seek Title V funding for the Colorado Department of Education without permission of the governor.