Student Discipline: A Biscuit Has Two Sides

Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

“Dr. Mosbacker, how many sides does a biscuit have?” I was perplexed and amused by the question. “Two,” I replied with a puzzled grin. “Right, and so does nearly every student disciplinary case.”

This seasoned, southern administrator was reminding me to investigate thoroughly the facts before making important student disciplinary decisions.

Over the years, I’ve learned how wise and valuable that advice is! Things are not always as they seem at first hearing.

We are prone to jumping to conclusions upon hearing about a student's alleged inappropriate conduct. Doing so is dangerous. Two verses in Proverbs speak of the folly of premature assumptions: “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:13), and “The one who states his case first seems right until the other comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). James gives similar advice, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak” (James 1:19).

Practical Advice for Examining Both Sides of the Biscuit

(1) Slow Down!

“Speed kills.” Like driving too fast is dangerous, making disciplinary decisions before all is known can harm students, parents, employees, your credibility, the school’s reputation, and the testimony of the gospel. Decisions made prematurely without all the facts can also expose the school to legal risks.

There is seldom the need to make quick decisions about an employee’s or student’s behavior. There are, of course, situations where a leave of absence or suspension may be necessary while an investigation is being conducted. In most cases, however, no action needs to be taken until a thorough review of the facts has been completed, and careful consideration is made of the proportional, appropriate response to confirmed misconduct.

(2) Assume Innocence Until Guilt is Proven or Reasonable Suspicion Can Be Established

The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of the U.S. legal system. A person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until their guilt can be established beyond a reasonable doubt. This principle protects individuals from wrongful convictions based on insufficient evidence.

Although our schools are not courts of law, we should presume the student is innocent until sufficient evidence has been obtained to establish their guilt. The standard of proof used in disciplinary actions for educational institutions is lower than the legal standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.” School administrators can rely on the preponderance of evidence or reasonable suspicion standards, depending on the situation.1 This standard allows schools to act more swiftly than courts of law, focusing on maintaining order and safety within the school while providing due process to students and staff.

Suppose you believe the student is guilty of misconduct but do not have sufficient evidence to take action. In that case, it is best to withhold disciplinary action, even though you are convinced of the student’s guilt and withholding discipline may spark anger among those convinced of the student’s guilt. Your responsibility is to do what is just and proper, it is not to make decisions that make others happy. This may mean taking no action even though you are convinced of the student's guilt. My experience tells me that serial offenders eventually get caught.

(3) Be Aware: People are Prone to Harsh, Inaccurate Judgments

People tend to assume the worst and, in the absence of complete information, create their narrative of what happened. These narratives are frequently based on incomplete or erroneous information. In “Ethical Writings,” Jonathan Edwards warns of this tendency:

Merely hearing a flying ill report of a person is far from being sufficient evidence against persons that they have been guilty of that which is reported. Yet, it is a very common thing for persons to pass a judgment on others on no other foundation. When they hear that others have done or said so or so, they conclude it is so at once without further inquiry … It seems to be pleasing to them to hear something very ill reported of some others … they easily and quickly take it in as true, without examination.2

Do not let the assumptions and ill-considered haste of others incite you to make premature judgments and bad decisions. Withhold judgment and punishment until you have sufficient evidence to make an informed, fair decision.

(4) Investigate Thoroughly

Take the time to gather the evidence and interview everyone who may have direct knowledge of the situation. Ask detailed and challenging questions to ensure you get the facts, not opinion or hearsay. Even those with the best intentions and highest integrity can misinterpret the situation and draw unwarranted conclusions. When people are angry, they want action. But, as the adage goes, “haste makes waste.” In the case of discipline, haste can make for bad and harmful decisions.

An Old Testament story illustrates the danger of hasty decisions based on inadequate evidence and the resulting misinterpretation of events. After the conquest of Canaan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned to their lands on the east side of the Jordan River. They built an altar near the Jordan, which was misunderstood by the other Israelite tribes as an act of rebellion against God. The western tribes gathered to make war against them, believing the altar was for false worship.

Before taking punitive action, the western tribes sent Phinehas, the priest, and a delegation to investigate. The conflict was peacefully resolved after it was learned that the altar was intended as a witness and memorial of their shared faith in God, not for sacrifices or idolatry. You can read the complete account in Joshua 22:10-34.

Hasty and false assumptions nearly led to civil war. Only a thorough investigation avoided war. The story's moral is do not prematurely and hastily“ go to war” with a student and their parents. Be careful, prayerful, and thorough. Make sure you have examined both sides of the biscuit!

(5) Pray for Wisdom

Many disciplinary decisions are complicated; the evidence is not always clear or complete, and knowing the right course of action can be challenging to discern even after the facts are established. When do you punish? For how long? How much is too much? How much is too little? Do I “throw the book” at them or follow the ‘spirit of the law?’ How much grace, if any, should I give?

Like Solomon, pray for the Lord to grant you wisdom and pure motives.

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people? (1 Kings 3:9).

(6) Guard Your Heart

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Speaking of motives, it is easy to become angry, to want to punish or to “get rid of a problem.” This can be an unrecognized temptation if the student under investigation has a “rap sheet” with the school. But, when the Lord disciplines his people, it is not to assuage his anger, that of others, or to “get rid of a problem.” God disciplines to sanctify and protect us.

God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:7–11).

Likewise, God makes a Covenant with King David and tells him that although he will discipline his son (Solomon) when he sins, God will not withhold his love from him:

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him (2 Samuel 7:12–15).

Our motive for discipline is to guide the student to the Lord, to nurture Christlike character, for reconciliation when possible, and to protect others and the school’s culture. Discipline is for the good of others, not ours.

(7) Do Not Let Good Policies Lead to Bad Decisions

School policies are designed to guide decision-making, they are not to be straitjackets hindering our ability to make wise decisions.

Policies can never anticipate every contingency, nor are they intended to substitute for wisdom and common sense. As Douglas Bader is attributed to have said, “Rules are meant to guide the wise and to be obeyed by fools.”3 While an overstatement, the nugget of truth is that policies are guides, not granite tablets engraved with immutable law. We are to use biblically informed wisdom without favoritism in applying school policy to achieve the goal of policy—to advance the school’s mission, serve parents, correct the behavior of students, and create a wholesome, Christ-honoring school culture conducive to learning.

While the consistent adherence to school policy is important, it is wise to adhere to the spirit of the law, not merely the letter of it. Our discipline should reflect the heart of God: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).

There ought to be the application of grace in our discipline decisions. Discipline should be just, proportional, even-handed, and administered with love, even when it is “tough love.” But grace does not mean the absence of discipline. To the contrary, discipline is a means of grace.

Final Thoughts

Disciplining students is never pleasant. It is often fraught with conflict, confusion, and controversy. It is also necessary and, when done well and for the right reasons, is a blessing to the student, parents, and the school community, even if not recognized as such at the moment. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

Be wise and courageous, but examine the whole biscuit before acting.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

1 New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985).

2 Edwards, J. (1989). Ethical Writings (P. Ramsey & J. E. Smith, Eds.; Vol. 8, pp. 285–286). Yale University Press.

3 Douglas Bader was a renowned Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter ace during the Second World War. Born on February 21, 1910, in St John's Wood, London, he became famous for his remarkable resilience and leadership despite losing both legs in a flying accident in 1931.