5-1 vote.

This has so far been a mammoth eight-and-a-half-hour session, which would be remarkable except for the fact that it was a little more than half as long as last night’s in the House Education Committee. But there is still another bill out there, this one on early childhood programs, that the committee will take on. It’s SB 581, and its counterpart in the House (HB 933) didn’t make it yesterday due to the time constraints and will be debated at a later date.

The hearing today was a bit more subdued than the House one yesterday, though opponents were no less willing to bring out anecdotes and sob stories about how the plan will ruin lives and destroy public education in the state.

But the two most significant parts of the Jindal education package have now rolled through committees and will reach the floor in the House and Senate shortly. The package is moving, and fast.