Kansas University Fees Law Upheld

AP reports that a group of students paying out-of-state tuition to attend college in Kansas cannot challenge a state law allowing some undocumented immigrants to pay lower in-state tuition, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled. The ruling dealt with whether the plaintiffs had standing to challenge the 2004 Kansas law and did not address the law’s merits. A trial judge in Kansas had ruled the students lacked standing to challenge the law because they did not face a ”concrete and imminent” injury. The Tenth Circuit  agreed. The plaintiffs, all U.S. citizens who did not live in Kansas, argued the state violated their constitutional rights by offering undocumented residents who were residents of Kansas the same in-state fees paid by other Kansas residents.  For a copy of the Tenth Circuuit’s opinion, click Download day_v. Sebelius 10 8-30-07.pdf

UMKC law professor Kris Kobach (for a past story about him, click here), handled the appeal for the plaintiffs.  Kobach also handled the trial for the City of Hazleton in Lozano v. City of Hazleton, in which a federal district struck down Hazleton’s immigration ordinance.

KJ