License of Utah boarding school where Paris Hilton alleged she was abused is revoked

License of Utah boarding school where Paris Hilton alleged she was abused is revoked

The state of Utah has revoked the license of Provo Canyon School, a boarding school where Paris Hilton said she was abused as a teenager. The decision, which took effect on Monday, cites multiple noncompliance issues against the school's campus in Springville, including failing 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 for applicants in a timely manner.

The school has 15 days to request a hearing before the Department of Health & Human Services. State health officials imposed temporary restrictions on the school in May, saying staff did not seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries. The wide-ranging citations go back to 2025, and the state said in its letter that all services at the campus must be terminated by August 6.

Paris Hilton, who spent almost a year at the school in the late 1990s, alleges that staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills, and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing. She has been a vocal advocate for shutting down the school and has testified about her experiences in Congress and state legislatures around the US, helping pass laws to protect teens in Utah and 15 other states.

Hilton welcomed the news of the license revocation, saying in a statement: 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. She added: 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.

Shannon Thoman-Black, director of the division of licensing and background checks at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said that the facility must close by August 6 and that the owners may not reapply for a new license for five years. She also emphasized the importance of ensuring that the children at the school are discharged into safe places, saying: