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Utah Revoked Provo Canyon School's Girls Campus License. Boys Campus Gets New Restrictions.

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Utah Revokes Provo Canyon School’s Springville Campus License

Utah has revoked the operating license for the Springville campus of Provo Canyon School, a residential teen treatment center with a documented record of violence and inadequate medical care. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services announced the action on July 7, 2026, citing “chronic, ongoing noncompliance with applicable rules, statutes, or requirements.”

The Springville campus serves girls. All services there must stop by August 6, 2026. No new enrollments are permitted, and the school’s owners cannot apply for a new license for five years.

The Boys Campus Avoided Closure but Faces New Restrictions

Utah did not revoke the license for the school’s Provo campus, which serves boys. The state placed conditions on it instead, prohibiting new admissions and requiring increased monitoring visits.

A state investigation found that Provo Canyon School delayed treatment for a minor who was rendered unconscious following a physical assault. Investigators also documented multiple incidents in which the school failed to ensure clients’ right to be free from harm or violence.

“Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care.”

Paris Hilton, advocate and survivor, July 7, 2026

Hilton, who said she was abused and isolated as a teenager at Provo Canyon School, returned to Utah last month to support families suing the center. Her years of public advocacy contributed to new state laws imposing stricter regulations on the residential teen treatment industry.

The School Is Considering an Appeal

Provo Canyon School CEO Tim Marshall said the school disagrees with the state’s decision and is “evaluating all available legal and administrative options, including an appeal.” Both the revocation and the conditions placed on the Provo campus are subject to appeal under Utah law.

Residential teen treatment centers operate with limited federal oversight. Regulation falls almost entirely to states, and enforcement actions like this one are rare even when complaints accumulate over years.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Call Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s office at (801) 538-1000 and urge him to ensure the August 6 closure deadline is enforced and that state monitors are present at the Provo campus during increased oversight visits.

  2. Contact your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to support federal legislation setting baseline safety standards for residential youth treatment programs. The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act has been reintroduced in multiple sessions; ask your senator to cosponsor it.

  3. If you or someone you know experienced abuse at a residential treatment facility, report it to the Utah Division of Licensing and Background Checks at (801) 538-4242 or online at dlbc.utah.gov. Reports create the documented record that supports enforcement actions like this one.

  4. Find and contact your Utah state legislators at le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp and ask them to close the loophole that allowed this school to remain open for years after the first documented abuse reports.

Sources

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