As they take their first tentative steps on the pathway to maturity, teens are likely to find that dating is fraught with emotional difficulty and sometimes physical peril. Contrary to the popular notion, dating is no game.

But is the problem of teen dating serious enough that public schools must address the issue in the classroom?

Maybe, if the case of Demi Brae Cuccia is any guide. She was the Gateway High School student, who on Aug. 15, 2007, the day after her 16th birthday, was fatally stabbed 16 times by her former boyfriend, who then tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide. He is now serving a life sentence.

This tragedy spurred her parents to take up the cause of educating teens and their families about teen dating violence. On Tuesday their efforts were partly rewarded when the state House voted 183-13 to pass a bill named informally for their daughter. House Bill 2026 would require school districts -- in consultation with domestic violence and rape crisis centers -- to include information in their 7th to 12th grade curriculums on the warning signs for dating violence. The lessons could come in health or other classes.

Some Republican lawmakers expressed reasonable concern that families, not schools, should be instructing their children on these matters -- and one successfully introduced an amendment allowing students to opt out of the instruction if parents request it.

Opposition to government intrusion presents an irony, however. Conservatives often fault public schools for not teaching values, yet any discussion of teen dating violence will inevitably be standing up for an important moral principle.

While parents need to take responsibility for giving such advice, we think, on balance, that the bill deserves support. Not every child has a parent who can or is willing to give wise counsel, and the instruction doesn't seem likely to come at the expense of academic subjects. It can't hurt, it might help and it doesn't let parents off the hook.

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