A growing number of Americans believe that the public schools have a responsibility to include moral education in their curriculum; and, in fact, 31 states are currently offering courses aimed at teaching students some aspect of traditional values in the expectation of producing concerned citizens who will preserve our democarcy. Each moral education program, if it is to be successful, must reflect the values and characteristics of the surrounding community. Among the many components of most moral education programs today are: (1) a policy statement outlining the program's educational philosophy and instructional goals; (2) an understanding that school personnel will be seen as role models for students; (3) a heavy involvement of parents and the community; (4) a study of the Constitution; (5) an emphasis on academic excellence; and (6) opportunities to practice real-life moral behavior. Some special activities that schools with moral development programs have found useful include suggestion boxes, student/teacher/parent performance contracts, and heavily promoted volunteer programs. By all signs, moral education represents the wave of the future and of the present; perhaps public schooling in America is about to include the fourth R: Responsibilty. (KM)