Can I go to the bathroom?
One student asks. Then another. By the third you realise you don’t know what the rule is here, and whatever you decide now is the rule for the rest of the period.
Find out the policy before the bell — ask the office or the teacher next door, and look for a pass on the wall or in the desk. If you’re already in it, go one at a time and write down who left and when.
Why this happens
Bathroom policy is among the most variable things in a school and among the least written down. Some buildings run passes, some run a sign-out sheet, some close hallways during certain periods, and plenty leave it entirely to the teacher. Students know the real rule and they know you don’t. That isn’t usually malice — it’s the one place where the gap between what you’re authorised to do and what you’ve been told is completely visible from a desk.
What to do
- Ask before the bell. The office or the teacher next door answers this in ten seconds.
- One at a time, and write down the name and the time. The list matters more than the rule does.
- Say your rule once, to the whole room, early. Announcing it before the first request stops it looking like a decision about that student.
- Don’t say no to the first person and yes to the fourth. Consistency is the only part of this you can actually defend.
- If someone’s gone more than a few minutes, call the office. Not a search — a phone call.
Say this
K–2
Ask before the day starts how bathroom trips work for this class. At this age it’s often a scheduled whole-class trip or an adult goes along, and improvising isn’t an option. A child who can’t wait isn’t a rule question.
3–8
“One at a time, and you sign out with me.” Post it or say it at the start. This age accepts a stated system readily and tests an unstated one every time. Add this if someone’s gone a while: “I have to call the office — that’s not a threat, it’s just what I have to do.”
9–12
“Sign out, go, come back.” Most of the negotiation disappears if you decline to make it one. If it becomes a pattern with one student, note it for the teacher rather than confronting it.
Where the line is
- Yours: how many at a time during your period, inside the building’s rule.
- The office’s: whether hallways are open, a student who doesn’t come back, and anything about a particular student’s needs — which you won’t be told and shouldn’t ask about.
- The teacher’s: whether a pattern with one student means anything.
Whatever the building’s policy says, goes. This is one where buildings genuinely differ, so ask rather than assume.
If that doesn’t work
When a student tells you they have a medical reason, the answer is yes, and you mention it to the office afterwards. You aren’t the person who evaluates that and you aren’t going to get it right in thirty seconds with a room watching.
In the note
Ran the bathroom one at a time with a sign-out sheet since I couldn’t find a pass. The list is on your desk.
From Holding the room in The Sub’s Handbook.
Written by a substitute teacher, for substitute teachers. This is what’s worked in real classrooms — not official guidance, and not a substitute for your school’s policies or your district’s training. When something feels beyond you, it probably is: call the office. They’d rather hear from you early than late.
Open subin, the app the handbook comes from. Free to use.
Dan McSpirit is an active guest teacher and the author of The Sub’s Handbook. He built subin for the job he was doing at the time. More of his work is at danmcspirit.com.