A public school advocate in a family full of teachers spoke against Arkansas LEARNS Wednesday.

It was a trap all along!

The Republican push for school vouchers might be folded up in a 144-page bill that includes some sweet stuff, like raises, maternity leave and tutoring programs. At its core, though, the Arkansas LEARNS bill creates a universal voucher program that puts the state of Arkansas on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending of public money that will go to private schools and home school parents.

The bill was filed Monday evening, and the first of what will likely be only two opportunities to weigh in was set for 9 a.m. Wednesday. That meant anyone who wanted to testify, including teachers, would have to either forfeit their say or miss a work day.

Republicans were ready, with quivers drawn. Teachers skipped out on their students to selfishly advocate for themselves was the company line coming out of the Sarah Huckabee Sanders spin room. Heads of pro-voucher groups jumped in on the melee, happy to a kick a Democrat in the head for suggesting 40 hours was not enough time to read and analyze a 144-page legal document.

To the educators with legitimate concerns about the negative effects parts of the Arkansas LEARNS bill will have on students and teachers, the people in charge say, “Shut up.”

To wit:

The bill’s primary sponsor rubs defeat in the faces of underdog teachers and suggests they should be disciplined for getting political during school hours. (Is advocating for the best education for students really political?)

Opponents of the voucher bill are liars anyway, the governor and Davis said.

From the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida outfit that rails against any government spending that helps people truly in need of help but applauds welfare for the already well-to-do:

Sanders’ deputy chief of staff suggests teachers had no business showing up at all to speak about a bill that affects them and their students directly.

Nicholas Horton, head of the pro-voucher group Opportunity Arkansas, brings a culture war flair. Never miss an opportunity to beat up on a trans kid, right?

Corey DeAngelis, the voucher evangelist who sells school choice like it’s a ginsu knife and he’s a late-night infomercial host, missed the target here. DeAngelis’ point that a leading voucher bill opponent went to private school falls flat, considering Grant Tennille’s family covered their own tuition and didn’t ask taxpayers to pay for it.

Austin Gelder is the editor of the Arkansas Times and loves to write about government, politics and education. Send me your juiciest gossip, please.