Iowa students may not be protected from coaches under current law, a situation Gov. Terry Branstad is working to change.

Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds called on the Legislature to close a “loophole” left by an April 11 Iowa Supreme Court Ruling.

The court ruled in Patrick Ryan Nicoletto v. Iowa that coaches were not considered employees in K-12 schools, which would leave them outside of the sexual-exploitation law.

In order to be prosecuted under the law, an employee must be an administrator, teacher, or other licensed professional.

The ruling found coaches who were not teachers and were professionally licensed did not meet the standard.

The governor called on the Legislature to pass a bill addressing the issue. Reynolds added that as a mother, she wanted to know her children were safe at school, according to a press release.