{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2506.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-2506.2","heading":"Peer support counseling confidentiality","body":"A. For purposes of this section:\n\n1. \"Emergency services provider\" means any public employer that\n\nemploys persons to provide firefighting services;\n\n2. \"Emergency services personnel\" means any employee of an\n\nemergency services provider who is engaged in providing firefighting\n\nservices;\n\n3. \"Employee assistance program\" means a program established by\n\na law enforcement agency or emergency services provider to provide\n\ncounseling or support services to employees of the law enforcement\n\nagency or emergency services provider;\n\n4. \"Law enforcement agency\" means any county sheriff, municipal\n\npolice department, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and any state or\n\nlocal public body that employs public safety personnel;\n\n5. \"Public safety personnel\" means a sheriff, deputy sheriff,\n\nmunicipal police officer, state police officer, parole and probation\n\nofficer, corrections employee, certified reserve officer,\n\ntelecommunicator or emergency medical dispatcher; and\n\n6. \"Peer support counseling sessions\" means critical incident\n\nstress management sessions for public safety or emergency services\n\npersonnel who have been involved in emotionally traumatic incidents\n\nby reason of their employment. The sessions may include\n\nparticipation of the immediate family of the public safety or\n\nemergency services personnel.\n\nB. Any communication made by a participant or counselor in a\n\npeer support counseling session conducted by a law enforcement\n\nagency or by an emergency services provider for public safety\n\npersonnel or emergency services personnel, and any oral or written\n\ninformation conveyed in the peer support counseling session, is\n\nconfidential and may not be disclosed by any person participating in\n\nthe peer support counseling session.\n\nC. Any communication relating to a peer support counseling\n\nsession made confidential under subsection B of this section that is\n\nmade between counselors, between counselors and the supervisors or\n\nstaff of an employee assistance program, or between the supervisors\n\nor staff of an employee assistance program, is confidential and may\n\nnot be disclosed.\n\nD. The provisions of this section apply only to peer support\n\ncounseling sessions conducted by an employee or other person who:\n\n1. Has been designated by a law enforcement agency or emergency\n\nservices provider, or by an employee assistance program, to act as a\n\ncounselor; and\n\n2. Has received training in counseling and in providing\n\nemotional and moral support to public safety personnel or emergency\n\nservices personnel who have been involved in emotionally traumatic\n\nincidents by reason of their employment.\n\nE. The provisions of this section apply to all oral\n\ncommunications, notes, records and reports arising out of a peer\n\nsupport counseling session. Any notes, records or reports arising\n\nout of a peer support counseling session are not public records for\n\nthe purposes of Sections 24A.1 through 24A.29 of Title 51 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes.\n\nF. Any communication made by a participant or counselor in a\n\npeer support counseling session subject to this section, and any\n\noral or written information conveyed in a peer support counseling\n\nsession subject to this section, is not admissible in any judicial\n\nproceeding, administrative proceeding, arbitration proceeding or\n\nother adjudicatory proceeding. Communications and information made\n\nconfidential under this section shall not be disclosed by the\n\nparticipants in any judicial proceeding, administrative proceeding,\n\narbitration proceeding, or other adjudicatory proceeding. The\n\nlimitations on disclosure imposed by this subsection include\n\ndisclosure during any discovery conducted as part of an adjudicatory\n\nproceeding.\n\nG. Nothing in this section limits the discovery or introduction\n\nin evidence of knowledge acquired by any public safety personnel or\n\nemergency services personnel from observation made during the course\nn proceeding, or other adjudicatory proceeding. The\n\nlimitations on disclosure imposed by this subsection include\n\ndisclosure during any discovery conducted as part of an adjudicatory\n\nproceeding.\n\nG. Nothing in this section limits the discovery or introduction\n\nin evidence of knowledge acquired by any public safety personnel or\n\nemergency services personnel from observation made during the course\n\nof employment, or material or information acquired during the course\n\nof employment, that is otherwise subject to discovery or\n\nintroduction in evidence.\n\nH. This section does not apply to:\n\n1. Any threat of suicide or homicide made by a participant in a\n\npeer support counseling session, or any information conveyed in a\n\npeer support counseling session relating to a threat of suicide or\n\nhomicide;\n\n2. Any information relating to abuse of children or of the\n\nelderly, or other information that is required to be reported by\n\nlaw;\n\n3. Any admission of criminal conduct; or\n\n4. Any admission of a plan to commit a crime.\n\nI. This section shall not prohibit any communications between\n\ncounselors who conduct peer support counseling sessions, or any\n\ncommunications between counselors and the supervisors or staff of an\n\nemployee assistance program.","path":["OK Code","Title 12"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os12.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"abd0a4925d15ae6660f759a3ee59aa81686e4c3af984258623b6f4f8ca3e1a80","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2506.1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2507"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}