When Rebecca Lopez was 14, she was taken from her bedroom one night by two strangers and delivered to a remote Christian boarding school in California. Her mother knew – it was an attempt to “fix” her sexuality – and it was all legal. buzzfeednews.com/article/tylerk…
Though California was the first state to ban conversion therapy by medical professionals for minors, there's nothing in the law that stops private boarding schools like River View Christian Academy from trying to "scare the gay away.”
Multiple students who attended River View, formerly the Julian Youth Academy, told BuzzFeed News that they were punished for saying they were gay or bisexual, and also for engaging in sexual activity or self-harm.
River View's punishments included restricted diets, running laps, writing Bible verses, and being forbidden from talking to the other girls at the school or having any physical contact with anyone.
One student said she was told the "flesh would burn off my skin repeatedly for eternity in hell because I was gay." After being eight months without physical contact, she says she screamed the first few times someone hugged her after she returned home.
Former students told BuzzFeed News that staff failed to report to authorities their claims of physical or sexual abuse by parents or other adults, and that girls who attempted suicide or harmed themselves were punished and not provided psychiatric care or therapy.
The faith-based institution has rigid rules about sexuality and pre-marital sex. A student who was pregnant while attending River View said she didn’t receive prenatal care. A staffer gave birth secretly, saying she feared being fired, and was convicted of killing the infant. 
And yet, River View’s methods are not technically illegal. No one knows how many troubled teen programs exist in the country, partly because there's little agreement on the definition of these facilities, and state regulations let many fly under the radar.
Boarding schools and camps that target troubled teens serve an estimated 10,000 to 14,000 young people per year. In 22 states, private schools are not required to register with the state, rendering them virtually invisible unless someone complains or something horrible happens.
Attempts in Congress to give the US Department of Health and Human Services oversight of these facilities have failed. The hesitation, according to people who have lobbied for the attempts, is that many Congress members believe regulation should be left to the states.
While California propelled into law a bill that enhances state oversight of troubled teen facilities, which explicitly bans troubled teen facilities from measures that seek to change sexual orientation, it has yet to define River View in terms that are covered by the new law.
River View argues it's doing just fine, though it has no licensed teachers, no nurses, and no licensed psychiatrists or therapists on staff.
River View claims agencies like the FBI, Homeland Security, and California's Department of Social Services "have all been to our campus on regular occasions," but a report shows that California social services attempted to visit the campus and were denied access by staff.
After River View, students say, many end up worse than they started. They lack the education to attend school. Friend have moved on. They struggle to form relationships and regain social skills: “You are 100% unprepared to deal with real life.”
Advocates say it is time to regulate schools like River View. buzzfeednews.com/article/tylerk…
