Area schools are handling absences related to "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" differently.

* At Anne Arundel County schools, parents can request that their children be excused, says spokesman Ken Nichols. Each principal then decides if missing a day will jeopardize the child's grades.

* Baltimore principals may allow students off as long as students provide a note from parents, according to spokesman Nat Harrington.

* In Baltimore County, says spokeswoman Myra Treiber. "Absences will be excused as long as the students bring in a note explaining where they were."

* Carroll County schools requested that parents obtain advance permission. The day will be counted as an excused absence, says Ed Davis, director of pupil services.

* Harford County schools count the day as a field trip. "That means it will not be an excused or unexcused absence," says spokesman Don Morrison. The field trip must be approved by a parent, he adds.

* Howard County schools also count the day as a field trip as long as the principal and a parent approve, says spokeswoman Patti Caplan.