September 7, 2022 4:00 p.m. 

Schools in the Roseburg School District may close early on Friday, due to new heat-related Oregon Occupational Health and Safety rules.

Superintendent Jared Cordon said this may impact their ability to keep schools open when temperatures reach certain thresholds. Cordon said the new rules are intended to prevent heat-related illnesses in the workplace and are important for protecting the health and safety of students and staff. Due to a lack of central air conditioning and air exchange in district schools, the district may not be able to comply with the OSHA rules if temperatures rise too high.

Cordon said the local forecast is predicting extreme temperatures on Friday. The decision to close schools Friday afternoon would be made no later than 12:00 p.m. on Thursday and would be announced in a One Call email.

If the earlier closure takes place, release times would be:

*Roseburg High School 12:45 p.m.

*Fremont and Jo Lane 12:20 p.m.

*All elementary schools 1:30 p.m.

Activities planned for later in the day, when temperatures begin to fall, will likely be able to proceed as normal.

Learn more about the new OSHA rules: https://osha.oregon.gov/Pages/topics/heat-stress.aspx

The RPS Heat Illness Prevention Plan can be viewed: https://www.roseburg.k12.or.us/departments/human-resources