First two defendants surrender in Atlanta school cheating scandal

ATLANTA The first two of several defendants expected to surrender Tuesday in Atlanta's school cheating scandal have turned themselves in to authorities, reports CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL-TV.

Tameka Goodson, a former school improvement specialist at Kennedy Middle School, walked into the Fulton County Jail at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, escorted by her attorney, Raymond Lail, the station says.

"She's been anxious about this, of course, since she's heard about this. (She's) very distraught over it," said Lail. "It's the closest she's ever been to a jail in her life."

Just before 6 a.m., Donald Bullock surrendered. He's a former testing coordinator at Usher Collier Heights Elementary, WGCL adds.

Thirty-five educators within the Atlanta school system, including former Superintendent Beverly Hall, were named in a 65-count indictment last week alleging a broad conspiracy to cheat, conceal cheating or retaliate against whistleblowers in an effort to bolster student test scores.

So far, says WGCL, there's been no sign of former Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall, whose name appears first on the indictment. Prosecutors say Hall "ran the school district as a criminal enterprise, condoning cheating by teachers and administrators so that she and others could get bonuses for improved test scores," WGCL says.

Prosecutors set a Tuesday deadline for all defendants to surrender to authorities.