WASHINGTON—The Daily Signal, the media arm of The Heritage Foundation, announced today the addition of Tony Kinnett as an investigative columnist.

A former public-school teacher and administrator in Indiana, Kinnett already has a string of published investigative pieces that have exposed radical teachings and policies in public schools.

In November 2021, Kinnett exposed Indiana public schools for using critical race theory in their presentations. After being retaliated against by the school system, Kinnett co-founded Chalkboard Review to give teachers and parents a platform that wasn’t available in other education-focused outlets.

The publication racked up an average 175,000 monthly readers and had major impact in the education sphere, including forcing Anderson University to desist from holding racially segregated sessions on inclusivity for campus students.

Kinnett today released his first scoop with The Daily Signal about a district-wide gender transition support plan that intentionally withholds and obfuscates gender transition information about a student from his or her parents.

Kinnett obtained emails that show counselors in South Madison Community School Corporation in Indiana advising teachers to not tell parents if a student wants to use different names or pronouns in school—unless the student says parents are supportive of the move.

Upon further digging, Kinnett found that the policy is not approved by any school board, even though an assistant superintendent in charge of the counseling department told the counseling staff that this gender policy was “board-approved.”

“I’m excited to join The Daily Signal to spearhead a series of investigative reports like this one on the rot in public education,” Kinnett said. “For too long, parents have been lied to about what their children are being taught. Instead of gaslighting parents that these practices don’t exist like the mainstream media does, I intend to expose the radical ideas and agendas that have taken over classrooms.”

Katrina Trinko, editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal, released the following statement on the announcement:

“As a former educator, Tony understands just how important our schools are to America's future, and as a parent, he understands just how crucial it is for America's parents to know what's really going on in our school system. We're excited for Tony to bring his fearless reporting exposing the truth about America's public schools to The Daily Signal.”

Lindsey Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, added:

“As parents and some policymakers have been working to restore parental control of education, Tony has been an incredible asset to the movement. He has been eyes and ears on the ground, providing a critical check on what district schools are teaching children. We’re thrilled to see his indispensable education reporting find a new home at the Daily Signal.”

Prior to joining The Daily Signal, Kinnett wrote for National Review, The Federalist, The Daily Caller and The Washington Examiner.

In addition to his investigative work, Kinnett launched the successful Twitter parody account “Ministry of Truth” (@USMiniTru), which mocks the Biden administration’s attempted but ultimately abandoned Disinformation Board. Follow Kinnett on his Twitter @TheTonus.

Kinnett earned two master's degrees in education technology and curriculum development at Ball State University as well as a bachelor’s in science education at Maranatha Baptist University.

He lives in Greenfield, Ind., with his wife and daughter.