'DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO'

Do as we say, not as we do" appears to be the philosophy of some
members of Ohio's Education Standards Board in regard to ethical
behavior by public school teachers.

That may be a bit harsh, given the fact that the board's lapse
involved state public meetings law -- while the subject of its
improper gatherings was criminal misconduct by educators. Still,
members of the board should have deliberated the issue in public, if
only to obtain input from Ohioans.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, six of the board's 17 members met
twice to discuss the matter. But they failed to notify the press and
the public in scheduling meetings to discuss the matter -- a
violation of Ohio's open meetings law.

Misconduct by educators has been in the news for the past few months.
Standards Board members were right to discuss the issue and to
propose a new code of conduct for educations. The recommendation is
to be reviewed by the full Standards Board in January, then by state
Board of Education in February.

A new code of conduct put forth by board members is intended to crack
down on the tiny minority of Buckeye State educators who engage in
criminal behavior, abusing the trust placed in them by their students
and the public in general.

Failure to notify the press and public of the two meetings in
question was merely an oversight, according to a state Department of
Education official. Perhaps so -- but Ohioans have a right to expect
that their public officials -- members of a "Standards Board," of all
people -- will know and abide by state laws governing them.

According to the state Department of Education official, public input
on the proposed new rules is being sought. It will be accepted at
public meetings and on the department's Web site.

That's good, even if the idea of getting the public involved comes a
little late in the process.

Clearly, new rules seeking to keep criminals out of Ohio classrooms
are needed. Unfortunately, it seems that some of those making the
rules need remedial classes in obeying the state's open meetings law.

It appears that American teenagers are getting the message about
illegal drugs. Unfortunately, many of them don't seem to understand
that some legal drugs also can be dangerous.

Each year the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research
conducts in-depth interviews with about 50,000 teenagers from
throughout the country, on a variety of topics. Use of drugs for
"recreational" purposes is one of the subjects covered.

According to this year's study, about 35.9 percent of high school
seniors reported using some type of illegal drug during the past
year. That's far too high, but at least progress is being made.

The rate in 1997 was 42.4 percent. Only about 1.7 percent of the
seniors reported having used marijuana during the past year, compared
to 4.7 percent a decade ago.

Survey results for younger children were encouraging, too. Of
eighth-graders in the study, 13.2 percent admitted to having used
illegal drugs during the past year. That compares to 14.8 percent a
year ago.

Again, any use of illegal drugs by teenagers is unacceptable. More
needs to be done to prevent them from using such substances.

But, while use of illegal substances seems to be decreasing, abuse of
legal drugs is growing.

Use of drugs prescribed as painkillers or available over-the-counter
as cough and cold remedies is particularly disturbing. It is
increasing in some age categories.

Clearly, schools and parents need to do a better job of convincing
children that drugs -- even legal ones -- have to be handled with
care.