PIERRE - A South Dakota Senate committee has rejected a measure that sought to increase the punishment for teachers and coaches who engage in sexual conduct with students.

The Judiciary Committee voted 4-3 to kill the bill after some senators said more time is needed to iron out the proper wording of the proposal. They said the original bill would have allowed a 17-year-old boy working at a school to be charged with a felony for having sex with a girlfriend who is a student.

SB141 originally would have covered any person employed at a high school, but the committee changed it to apply only to teachers and coaches.