Utah Shuts Down Provo Canyon School Over Documented Abuse, Safety Violations

Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday the permanent revocation of the operating license for Provo Canyon School’s Provo campus. The decision concludes months of investigation and advocacy pressure targeting the residential facility for troubled youth, which regulators found unsafe and non-compliant with state standards.

State inspections conducted in 2026 uncovered more than a dozen regulatory violations, including inadequate resident protection protocols and authorization of disciplinary practices deemed harsh and inappropriate for minors. The documented breaches formed the basis for the state’s decision to permanently shut down operations at the facility.

Shannon Thoman-Black, director of Utah’s licensing and background checks unit, emphasized that youth in state-regulated residential programs must receive comprehensive protections from harm. She underscored the state’s responsibility to ensure facilities meet rigorous safety standards.

The action against the Provo campus follows the state’s earlier suspension of a second Provo Canyon School location in Utah over health and safety deficiencies. Friday’s permanent revocation represents an escalation in regulatory enforcement against the institution.

Paris Hilton, who attended the school for approximately 12 months during the late 1990s, has led a public campaign exposing misconduct within the private residential treatment industry. Hilton released a statement applauding the closure as validation of her longstanding advocacy and personal testimony about conditions at the facility.

“This period of mistreatment, abandonment, and psychological harm has finally ended,” Hilton said in a prepared statement distributed following the state announcement.

The facility, which serves teenagers aged 12 to 18, must cease all operations by August 15. State health authorities will conduct weekly inspections throughout the closure period to ensure compliance with the shutdown order.

School administrators contested the state’s findings through business development director Staci Bradley, indicating plans to pursue formal hearings and appeals within the permitted 15-day window. The institution did not concede to the regulatory conclusions.

Hilton has publicly detailed allegations including physical violence by staff, privacy violations during hygiene routines, administration of unidentified substances, and isolation confinement without clothing. She has presented these claims before Utah legislators and members of the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions.

Hilton’s advocacy efforts have contributed to the passage of youth protection legislation in Utah and more than a dozen additional states. The laws aim to impose regulatory controls on the private residential treatment industry, which operates numerous for-profit facilities across the country.

During a June visit to the school, Hilton showed support for families engaged in litigation over allegations their children suffered abuse while enrolled. Current ownership has declined to accept responsibility for alleged abuses occurring before their assumption of facility operations.