A vote by the Texas House to do away with our teacher incentive pay program, enacted in HB 1 less than one year ago, is a huge leap backward in our work to improve public education. Texas’ pay for performance program is the largest of its kind in the nation and a proven method to attract and keep quality teachers in the classroom. The lack of pay differentiation among teachers, regardless of performance, is among the greatest deterrents for professionals considering careers in education. In fact, fully 75 percent of Texas teachers support higher pay for effective teachers, and even higher percentages of parents and taxpayers support such a program. If anything, we should greatly expand our modest program to reward and retain effective teachers. By caving in to pressure to embrace misguided and ineffective policy, the Texas House punished the 4.5 million public school students in Texas who deserve the education effective teachers can deliver. Fortunately, the Texas Senate has the chance to undo the House’s devastating decision to abolish quality education policy in Texas. Anyone who cares about education should insist that they do.