Provo Canyon School

A Utah treatment center told families it would save their children. In July 2026, the state took both licenses.

Utah · Founded 1971 · Licenses revoked 2026

Aerial winter view of Provo Canyon School in Utah

Provo Canyon School, Utah. Former students, including Paris Hilton, described forced medication, isolation, and restraints on this campus.

The story

Provo Canyon School opened in 1971, with campuses in Provo and Springville. The promise to parents was a locked door, therapy, and school. Former students described forced medication, isolation, restraints, and staff who watched them in the bathroom and the shower. Paris Hilton was sent there at 16.

What happened

In February 2021 she told the Utah Senate she was abused daily, cut off from her family, and given medication that left her numb. She said she did not see sunlight for 11 months, and that mail and calls were read so no one inside could ask for help. She described a solitary room marked with scratch marks and blood. Other former students had reported the same methods for years. In June 2026, Utah’s Disability Law Center took both campuses to state regulators. Investigators cited failures to protect clients, unnecessary restraints, and failures to report critical incidents. A public petition passed 202,000 signatures.

Paris Hilton

“I was no longer Paris. I was only number 127.”

Utah Senate testimony, February 8, 2021 · Deseret News

Watch

She tells the rest herself, in This Is Paris. This is her account of those 11 months.

What changed

In July 2026 the Utah Department of Health and Human Services revoked the Springville license, with a reported shutdown of August 6, then the Provo license, with a reported shutdown of August 16. Lawsuits about neglect and delayed care are still allegations until a court rules. The licenses are not an allegation. The state pulled them. Hilton’s testimony also pushed Utah to tighten rules on youth residential programs.

Why this story is here

Vista Maria survivors in Michigan are asking for a public record, and for a filing deadline that does not erase it. This page is that record for Provo Canyon. The sources are below.