ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyers for some of the 35 defendants in Atlanta's school cheating scandal are scrambling to get their clients' bonds lowered as defendants slowly turn themselves in to be booked.

Hurl Taylor says the $1 million bond set for his client, test coordinator Donald Bullock, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Bullock was among the first to surrender at the Fulton County Jail on Tuesday, the deadline established for all 35 defendants. Only a handful of defendants had surrendered by early Tuesday afternoon.

Testing coordinator Theresia Copeland is also facing a $1 million bond, which her attorney, Warren Fortson, said was excessive for a 56-year-old grandmother.

The educators are named in a 65-count indictment that alleges a broad conspiracy involving cheating on standardized tests in Atlanta Public Schools.