last updated November 1, 2025

LCPS Handbook for 2025-26 is Online ~CLICK HERE

Attendance Policies are available Online ~CLICK HERE

Athletes are dismissed from team for missing 4 practices. 

Practices over holiday periods are the discretion of each sport head coach policy and game schedules.

Coach View of Absences:

• Overall:  LCPS handbook discourages athletes to commit to too many activities that inherently affect performance in a given sport.

• Blackout Dates:  absences from sports practices are limited to Sundays, LCPS Blackouts, and VHSL Blackouts.

• LCPS Blackout Dates:  include New Years, Christmas Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving and the day prior, and no others. 

• Other Holidays:  Practices are held on all other holidays. 

• Optional Practice Dates:  coaches may identify some dates as "optional" such as after Thanksgiving or week of Christmas. By missing practice days, coaches give priority to other athletes for varsity positions. 

• School Tardy:  You can not practice or compete in sports if you are absent from school that day, or if you arrive late to school after the 9:30 AM morning bell. LCPS removed the 15-minute grace period this year! 

• Daily List:  The Athletic Department generally issues a list to coaches each day showing athletes absent or tardy from school. 

• Unexcused absences from practice:

  • • no more than THREE may be accumulated with penalties issued for any unexcused absence and the 4th absence will result in dismissal from the team. 

    • Vacations count as unexcused. 

    • Religious exemptions:  absences due to religious reasons are unexcused unless recognized as one of the LCPS Blackout Dates. 

    • See Athletic Department declarations below.

• Excused absences from practice:  

  • • no more than THREE may be accumulated whereby additional absences are considered unexcused.

    • use the Google Forms to describe why you are out. 

    • Consecutive days out of school due to illness/sickness count as one absence.

    • Examples of excused absences may be seen in the school handbook plus others such as family death, home sickness/illness, court cases, doctors/dentists, suspensions, or principal approved events. 

    • Proofs/notes from parent, doctor, dentist notes are required by email to ~ LightridgeWrestling@gmail.com  

• Coaches' Discretion:

  • • Coaches can decide if an absence the day prior to a Saturday competition is excused or unexcused at time of notice by athlete.

    • Coaches reserve the right to enter or start athletes at coaches' discretion.

    • Coaches may require a meeting with parent for excessive absences to return to play. 

• Classes such as Band, Choir, Chorus, Orchestra *** Action for Athletes ***

  • • Are considered authorized absences and do not count toward the cumulative three above, however, athletes still need to tell their coaches in advance. 

    • Athletes will not be able to participate until they provide coaches with the following information in early November:

      • • Classes for which athletes participate.

        • Name of teachers/instructors for each class.

        • Schedule dates expected for absences due to practices, competitions, and grade evaluations. 

    • Coaches reserve discretion on athlete participation in sports competitions. 

    • Athletes may receive penalties for not informing coaches in advance of these events that otherwise could impact team planning to fill the positions. 

• Sicknesses (when athletes attended school):

  • • Athletes who are sick shall not attend practice (if they attended school with visible signs of illness) to prevent spreading illnesses, however, they need to stop by the wrestling room to tell the coaches before leaving school. 

    • In cases where athletes are sick, attend school, report to the coach after school, and sent home by the coach to not infect others, such absences will be considered authorized absences, and do not count toward the above three.

• Skin infections, or injuries:

  • • Athletes with skin infections shall be required to attend practice to watch but not participate until cleared to prevent spread.

    • Athletes are not authorized to practice on the mat until the completed VHSL medical form is provided to coaches. 

    • Athletes with injuries shall attend practice to watch until cleared by school trainer. 

• Clubs and extracurricular activities:

  • • Absences due to athletes missing practices or competitions due to clubs or extracurricular activities are unexcused absences. 

    • Sports take priority over clubs and extracurricular activities. 

    • Parents and athletes are required to read pages 23 and 40 of the student handbook on this topic. 

• SATs, ACTs, Prep Sessions, and College Visits:

  • • All will count toward the total number of unexcused absences and should be communicated to coaches in advance.

• Tutoring and Academic Assistance from Teachers:

  • • Shall be scheduled at times to not interfere with sports practices or competitions, otherwise are unexcused absences.

• Outside jobs or family commitments:

  • • Absences due to outside employment or commitments by athletes to babysit siblings are considered unexcused absences.

• Late arrivals to sports practices:

  • • Athletes are expected to arrive prior to the 4:35 PM start time and be ready to begin the warmup routine.

    • Athletes are expected to arrive to the school in time for bus departures and additionally weighin prior to departure. 

    • Coaches may request a parent meeting if tardiness becomes a problem. 

• Early departure from sports practices:

  • • Athletes are expected to practice for the full duration of time which ends around 6:45 PM. 

    • Athletes are expected to stay with the team for the full duration of any given competition. 

    • Coaches may request a parent meeting if tardiness becomes a problem. 

Note:  Once assigned to a particular group, athletes will not be authorized to participate in the other group practices without express confirmation by the lead coach for both groups. Athletes often believe this is improving their performance but it actually adversely affects homework and sleep. Athletes also often believe they can use the other practice group as a "make-up" session for missing their main practice but this creates behaviors that ultimately lead to undisciplined commitments to time management and confusion with other athletes and daily wrestling partners due to missing lessons taught for drills. The only reason Lightridge has two separate practices is because the school program increased participation numbers significantly over five years and cannot fit everyone in the same room at the same time. 

Athletic Department View of Absences:  

Unexcused absences: On the day of the 4th unexcused absence, the athlete will be dismissed from the team. An unexcused absence is defined as missing practice without the prior knowledge of the coaching staff for any reason except any of the following:

i. Death in the family

ii. Injuries receiving medical care

iii. Non-rescheduled dental appointment

iv. Sickness resulting in missed school day(s)

Detention Hall / In-School Suspension Policy:

a. On days an athlete serves In-School Suspension or out of school suspension, they can not participate or play in practice or games.  In addition, the athlete may not participate in practice or games if the suspension carries over a weekend.  ( Friday – Monday )

b. On days an athlete serves in the detention hall after school he/she must report to the second half of practice or it will count as an unexcused absence.

LCPS Attendance Policies:  Attendance Policies are available Online ~CLICK HERE

School Hours: School begins at 9:30 AM and ends at 4:18 PM. Any student arriving after 9:30 AM is considered tardy. Students should be in their classrooms by 9:30 AM. 

Activities: Includes any sport practice or game, marching band, color guard, winter guard, all band rehearsals and performances, all chorus and orchestra rehearsals or performances, all theatre rehearsals and performances, and clubs-related activities. 

Tardy Policy: 

• LCPS has updated its attendance policy for students participating in extracurricular activities. 

• Beginning with the 2025–26 school year, students must report to school on time to be eligible for participation in practices, competitions or performances. 

• The previous 15-minute grace period has been removed. This change reinforces the importance of consistent, on-time attendance as a foundation for both academic achievement and extracurricular involvement. 

• For more information, please refer to the 2025–26 Student Activities Handbook or LCPS Policy 8350. 

• Any student arriving unexcused tardy after 9:30 AM will not be permitted to participate in after-school sports or activities. 

Excused Tardies/Early Dismissals: 

• • Must be accompanied by a note from the particular office (medical, dental, etc.) and the student will be allowed to participate. 

  • Notes can be handed in at the labeled box next to the check-in kiosk or emailed to lrhattendance@lcps.org. 

  • No parent phone calls or handwritten notes will be accepted. 

  • No early dismissals granted after 3:30 PM. 

  • Students receiving a clinic dismissal for illness during the school day will not be permitted to participate in after-school activities. 

Lightridge School Absence Procedures ~CLICK HERE

Attendance Email: LRHAttendance@lcps.org

Attendance voicemail: (571) 367-4101

ABSENCES: The Commonwealth of Virginia has a compulsory attendance law for all students less than 18 years of age. According to School Board Policy (8-17), all students have a responsibility to attend all scheduled classes and other assigned activities unless excused by the Principal. Absence from school for any period will result in the loss of learning. Students are required to find out what work has been missed and to make up that work within a reasonable amount of time, regardless of the reason for absence(s).

Only a parent or legal guardian may call or email if a student will be absent. Students may NOT report their own absence(s) – including students 18 years of age and older. If the parent/legal guardian has not called the school’s absentee line, the school will make every effort to contact a parent to verify the absence. Any absence not confirmed by a parent/legal guardian will be considered unexcused. 

Absences from school are excused with appropriate documentation for the following reasons:

• • Personal illness (proof from a parent email or note)

  • Death in the family (proof from a parent with an email or a note)

  • Medical or Dental appointments (excused provided student submits medical documentation to the Attendance Office from the doctor’s office, Court/Judicial appearances (excused provided student submits judicial documentation to the Attendance Office from the court)

  • Religious Holidays*

  • School sponsored events (limited to band, chorus, orchestra)

  • Pre-scheduled college/university orientations (excused provided student submits documentation from the college/university)

Please submit the absence notice via ParentVue, email to the attendance office or leave a voicemail on the attendance line before 9:30 am on the day of the absence or as soon as possible.

TARDIES: Promptness to class is essential for maintaining instructional consistency, which promotes learning. Students who are not in class by 9:30 a.m. must sign in with the Attendance Office and receive a tardy pass to class. Students who arrive after 9:30 a.m. and do not check in with the Attendance Office will be marked unexcused absent.

Proper documentation is required for an excused tardy in the form of: medical or judicial documentation, or illness with a note from the parent/legal guardian.

Tardiness is unexcused for some of the following reasons: 

• overslept

• running late

• traffic

• missed bus

• construction

• returning from travel

• car trouble

• illness with no parent/guardian note, and 

• medical or judicial appointment with no doctor/court documentation

Disciplinary action is taken once a student accumulates three unexcused tardies during a quarter. 

EARLY DISMISSALS: Students leaving school early must present a written note from his/her parent or legal guardian to the Attendance Office before 9:30 a.m. or the parent or legal guardian can update ParentVue or send an email two hours prior to the requested dismissal time. **Early dismissal cutoff time is 3:30 pm and will not be processed after this time.**

The note or email must contain the following information:

• Date

• Student’s Full Name

• Reason for dismissal (Note: indicating appointment on the note is an unexcused early dismissal. Please specify what the appointment is; example: doctor, DMV, etc.)

• Time dismissal is needed (please do not include the time of the appointment)

• Signature of parent/legal guardian writing the note

Early dismissals will only be granted with a parent/legal guardian request via ParentVue, email or phone message on the attendance line.

Students will receive an electronic e-hall-pass accessed via LCPSGO. Once approved by the teacher, the student will come to the Attendance Office to check out, and then meet their parent/legal guardian in the front office or at the main doors (Door A4). 

CLINIC RELEASE: Any student who becomes ill during the day must go to the clinic to call home. If a student leaves thru the clinic, they are required to stay home for the remainder of that day.

PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN PICKUP: Please be prepared to show government-issued identification (state-issued driver's license, passport) to the Front Office. 

EMERGENCY CONTACTS/ALTERNATIVE PICKUP: Emergency contacts can be updated at any time in ParentVue. Please make sure emergency contact information is current. If your student is picked up by an emergency contact or alternative pickup, the name must be provided in the dismissal request. The person must have government-issued identification (state-issued driver's license, passport) in hand to present to the front office for verification. Additionally, older siblings of students must be listed as emergency contacts to pick up students.

Last Modified on December 6, 2023

Virginia Laws on Absence ~ Click Here

§ 22.1-258. Appointment of attendance officers; notification when pupil fails to report to school; plan; conference; court proceedings.

Whenever any pupil fails to report to school for a total of five scheduled school days for the school year and no indication has been received by school personnel that the pupil's parent is aware of and supports the pupil's absence, and a reasonable effort to notify the parent has failed, the school principal or his designee shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that direct contact is made with the parent in person, through telephone conversation, or through the use of other communications devices to obtain an explanation for the pupil's absence and to explain to the parent the consequences of continued nonattendance. The school principal or his designee, the pupil, and the pupil's parent shall jointly develop a plan to resolve the pupil's nonattendance. Such plan shall include documentation of the reasons for the pupil's nonattendance.