---
title: "Utah Revokes the License of a Boarding School Where Paris Hilton Alleged Abuse"
description: "Utah regulators have revoked the license of Provo Canyon School's Springville campus, a residential treatment center where Paris Hilton has said she was abused as a teenager. The state cited repeated safety failures; the school's owner disputes the decision and is weighing an appeal."
category: "World"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/world
author: "Hannah Brooks"
published: 2026-07-08T07:41:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-08T07:41:00.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/utah-revokes-the-license-of-a-boarding-school-where-paris-hilton-alleged-abuse
tags: ["united-states", "utah", "paris-hilton", "regulation", "youth-care"]
---
# Utah Revokes the License of a Boarding School Where Paris Hilton Alleged Abuse

Utah regulators have revoked the license of Provo Canyon School's Springville campus, a residential treatment center where Paris Hilton has said she was abused as a teenager. The state cited repeated safety failures; the school's owner disputes the decision and is weighing an appeal.

Utah's health department has revoked the license of the Springville campus of Provo Canyon School, a long-controversial residential treatment center for troubled adolescents, citing a pattern of health and safety violations. The action, announced on July 7, requires the campus to stop operating by early August and bars its owner from reapplying for several years, [CBS News reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/license-utah-boarding-school-revoked-paris-hilton-abuse-provo-canyon/).

## What the state found

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services said the facility had been in repeated noncompliance dating back to early 2025, pointing to problems including inadequate staffing, improper use of physical restraints, gaps in employee background checks and incidents that were not properly reported, [KSL reported](https://www.ksl.com/article/51594966/utah-revokes-springvilles-provo-canyon-school-license). The revocation followed an earlier emergency action this spring after a reported incident in which a student was hurt. The state said it would work with families to move current students to other placements before the campus closes.

## The owner's response

Universal Health Services, the company that operates the school, said it disagreed with the state's decision and was reviewing its options, including a possible appeal, and it has a limited window to request an administrative hearing, [Deseret News reported](https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/07/07/paris-hilton-provo-canyon-school-license-revoked/). The company has previously defended its care and noted changes in ownership and practices over the years. The state's findings have not been tested in a hearing.

## Hilton's allegations and campaign

Provo Canyon School is widely known because of Paris Hilton, who has said she spent time there in the late 1990s and, in a 2020 documentary, described being mistreated, including being restrained, monitored and given medication without proper explanation. The school has said it cannot comment on individual former students and points out it was under different ownership at that time. Hilton has turned those experiences into a public campaign, testifying to lawmakers and backing legislation in more than a dozen states to tighten oversight of youth residential programs. Responding to the Utah decision, she said it showed that "no institution is too powerful to be held accountable."

## A wider debate

The case feeds a broader argument over the "troubled teen" industry, the network of private residential programs, many concentrated in a handful of US states, that take in adolescents with behavioral and mental-health needs. Supporters say such programs help families who have run out of options; critics, including a number of former residents, argue that some operate with too little oversight and too little transparency. For Utah regulators, the revocation is a rare and forceful step; for the families with children at the Springville campus, the immediate question is where those young people will go next.

## Sources

- [License of Utah boarding school where Paris Hilton alleged she was abused is revoked](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/license-utah-boarding-school-revoked-paris-hilton-abuse-provo-canyon/)
- [Utah revokes Springville's Provo Canyon School license](https://www.ksl.com/article/51594966/utah-revokes-springvilles-provo-canyon-school-license)
- [Springville school license revoked: what Paris Hilton has to say](https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/07/07/paris-hilton-provo-canyon-school-license-revoked/)