The point that your brother should understand is that TED KENNEDY wrote the bill.
The point *everyone* needs to understand is that President Bush planned this type of "reform" from the 2000 campaign on. Ted Kennedy had his hand in it because the president knew that the only way to get it passed was to involve high-profile Democrats.
This should tell you something about the complete failure of NCLB to adhere to *any* conservative principles. It's a money pit. It grossly increases the power of the federal government over what should be a local issue. Finally, if it's carried out to its logical conclusion (as the law is written, without amendment), it will end up destroying good suburban schools *in the same way* forced bussing destroyed good inner city schools. (Yes, there *were* good inner city schools in the days before forced bussing, believe it or not.)