ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Who Should Teach Them?

The once and future custodians of the 1960s sexual revolution are now the agonizing parents of today’s teen-agers. When an AIDS activist group passed out more than 1,000 candy-colored condoms outside Tustin High School last week, and with it a leaflet purporting to discuss AIDS prevention, parents went ballistic. They understandably want to be sure that youngsters get a message that, interestingly enough, was contained in the explicit leaflet distributed by Orange County’s chapter of ACT-UP. It is, “Abstinence is the surest way of stopping the spread of HIV.”

There was no question, as school officials were quick to point out, that the activist group was within its rights in passing out materials on the sidewalk. But the incident showed how battle lines are being sharply drawn on AIDS information.

The debate in local communities over abstinence versus education about sexual practices designed to reduce risk has heightened since Magic Johnson, infected with the HIV virus, retired from basketball and said he wanted to be a spokesman for “safe sex.”

It is unrealistic to think all students will abstain from sexual activity. The question becomes whether they will get their education from schools and medical authorities or whether they will get it over the transom--perhaps on the street outside the high school. If they get it that way, they may mistakenly underestimate the risks of some sexual practices.

While school districts will not be required until the 1992-93 school year to provide education in the prevention of AIDS, they shouldn’t wait to implement such instruction. It’s encouraging that County Supt. of Schools John F. Dean has taken a lead and begun urging school districts to train teachers in instruction on AIDS prevention.

It’s always better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.