Loudoun County School Board adopts September awareness proclamations with consent agenda

The Loudoun County School Board took up its consent agenda at the August 11 meeting after reading two proclamations from the Department of Student Services, one designating September 2026 as Attendance Awareness Month and one designating September 2026 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Lauren Shernoff (Board member, Leesburg District) moved to approve the consent agenda and Ross Svenson (Board member, Broad Run District; chair of the Legislative and Policy Committee) seconded. No vote tally or result was stated in the transcript. ^0:10:32

April Chandler (Chair; Board member, Algonkian District) introduced the proclamations before the vote, asked whether there were any changes to the consent agenda and, seeing none, entertained the motion. ^{0:06:00 0:10:32}

Svenson read the attendance proclamation, which defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of the school year and cites compulsory attendance requirements in Section 22.1-254 of the Code of Virginia. The text says Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is committed to proactively engaging students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 and recognizes that absenteeism can be caused by health challenges, transportation barriers, family obligations, housing insecurity and social-emotional concerns. ^{0:06:00 0:07:04}

The proclamation states that the board recognizes September 2026 as Attendance Awareness Month and resolves to support efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism by encouraging regular attendance, removing barriers to participation and ensuring students have access to the relationships and resources they need. ^0:08:09

Jon Pepper (Board member, Dulles District; chair of the Student Services Committee) read the second proclamation, which describes suicide as a leading cause of death among young people nationwide and lists warning signs including talking about or making plans for suicide, expressing hopelessness about the future, severe emotional pain or distress, withdrawal from social connections, changes in sleep, and anger or irritability that seem out of character. ^{0:08:09 0:09:18}

That proclamation notes the Loudoun County community has been impacted by youth suicide, says the school division implements comprehensive suicide prevention programming and partners with professional organizations, community agencies and universities, and encourages staff, students, families and community members to promote mental health awareness and access to available resources. ^{0:09:18 0:10:32}