Utah has officially revoked the license of a boarding school where Paris Hilton revealed she experienced mistreatment during her teenage years, citing the school’s failure to uphold necessary health and safety standards for its clients. The state’s action, effective as of Monday, pointed out numerous compliance issues at the Provo Canyon School’s Springville campus. The school has a 15-day window to request a hearing before the Department of Health and Human Services.
The extensive list of violations, dating back to 2025, includes inadequate staff-to-client ratios, instances of unwarranted restraint and physical aggression towards clients, substandard care, and delays in verifying employee credentials and conducting background checks for job applicants. State health authorities had previously placed temporary restrictions on the school in May due to staff negligence in promptly seeking medical attention for a student with severe injuries.
Paris Hilton, in a statement provided on Tuesday, remarked, “For over five decades, children have come forward with accounts of mistreatment, negligence, and trauma.” She added, “Today, the state has validated what survivors have long asserted: Provo Canyon School failed the children under its supervision.” Hilton, who spent close to a year at the school in the late 1990s, alleged that staff members physically assaulted her, invaded her privacy, administered unidentified medications, and isolated her in solitary confinement without clothing.
Shannon Thoman-Black, the director of the division overseeing licensing and background checks at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, emphasized during a media briefing on Tuesday that the facility must cease operations by August 6. The owners are prohibited from reapplying for a new license for a period of five years, and the department will conduct regular inspections to ensure compliance with regulations.
Hilton, now 45, has been actively advocating for the closure of the school by Utah regulators. She has shared her experiences at the institution before Congress and various state legislatures across the country, contributing to the enactment of laws safeguarding teenagers in Utah and other states. Utah has been a focal point in the troubled-teen industry, which comprises private, profit-driven residential facilities for children with behavioral challenges.
Provo Canyon School, described on its website as a psychiatric residential treatment center catering to youths aged 12 to 18, did not provide an immediate response to an Associated Press inquiry. The state has mandated the termination of all services at the campus by August 6. Hilton revisited the school in June to lend support to two families who had filed lawsuits alleging mistreatment of their children there.
Following a change in ownership, the school’s administration has refrained from commenting on past occurrences, including Hilton’s stay at the facility.