The Anne Arundel County school system is considering making Yom Kippur a school holiday in response to parent and staff requests, officials said yesterday.

Attendance data showing the number of students who take the day off for religious reasons also was a factor considered by officials who presented a tentative calendar for the next academic year.

"Although our numbers are still low, they are growing," said Georgiana Maszczenski, an administrator in charge of designing the calendar.

Baltimore and Howard County schools have observed Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, both Jewish holidays, for years. Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, falls in September or October; Rosh Hashana, which marks the Jewish New Year, is nine days earlier.