Utah has revoked the license of Provo Canyon School, a boarding school where socialite Paris Hilton alleges she was abused as a teenager, citing the school's failure to provide adequate health and safety services. The state's action, effective Monday, cites multiple noncompliance issues at the Springville campus, including failure to increase staff-to-client ratios, engaging in unnecessary restraint and aggressive physical contact with a client, neglecting care, and not verifying employee information or submitting background checks in a timely manner. The school has 15 days to request a hearing before Utah's Department of Health and Human Services.
Citations and Temporary Restrictions
The wide-ranging citations date back to 2025. In May, state health officials imposed temporary restrictions on the school after staff failed to seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries. The school, which describes itself as a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth ages 12 to 18, must terminate all services by August 6.
Paris Hilton's Statement
In a statement provided Tuesday, Hilton said: "For more than fifty years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma. Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care. I was one of those children. I know what it feels like to cry for help and believe no one is coming. Today, children still inside that facility know someone is finally coming to protect them."
Hilton, 45, spent nearly a year at the school in the late 1990s. She alleges staff beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills, and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing. She has testified about her experiences in Congress and state legislatures, helping pass laws to protect teens in Utah and 15 other states.
Background on Troubled Teen Industry
Utah has long played an outsized role in the "troubled teen industry," a network of private, for-profit residential centers for children with behavioral issues. Provo Canyon School, under new ownership, has said it cannot comment on incidents before the change, including Hilton's time there. The school did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment.
In June, Hilton visited the school to support two families who filed lawsuits alleging their children were mistreated there.
