5 questions about Utah’s revocation of Provo Canyon School’s license

1. What happened?

Utah’s Department of Health & Human Services revoked the license of Provo Canyon School’s campus in Springville, effective Monday, citing multiple health and safety violations dating back to 2025. The citations include failing to maintain adequate staff-to-client ratios, an unnecessary restraint and aggressive physical contact with a client, neglect of care, and failure to properly verify employee information and background checks.

2. Why does this matter?

The school has been the subject of decades of abuse allegations, and this marks the first time the state has formally confirmed serious wrongdoing through a license revocation. All services at the campus must be terminated by Aug. 6, meaning children currently housed there will need to be placed elsewhere.

3. Who is involved?

Paris Hilton, the hotel heiress and media personality who attended the school in the late 1990s, has been a prominent voice pushing for accountability, alleging she was beaten, watched while showering, given unknown pills, and locked in solitary confinement without clothing. The school is now under new ownership, and its current administration has said it cannot comment on anything that occurred before the ownership change, including Hilton’s time there.

4. What comes next?

Provo Canyon School has 15 days to request a hearing before the Department of Health & Human Services to contest the revocation. If the revocation stands, the school must terminate all services by Aug. 6.

5. What is the broader context behind this story?

Utah has long been a hub for the “troubled teen industry,” a network of private, for-profit residential facilities for children with behavioral issues. Hilton has testified before Congress and state legislatures nationwide about her experiences, helping pass protective laws in Utah and 15 other states, and in June she returned to the school to support two families who filed lawsuits alleging mistreatment of their children there.

For more on this report, read “Utah revokes license for boarding school where Paris Hilton says she was abused as a teen,” from The Associated Press, published on The Washington Times.