Students in Arizona are entitled to pursue a lawsuit against the state’s public universities over what the students argue were unfair and illegal tuition increases in 2003, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled this week.

In their ruling, some of the judges pointed out that the state’s Constitution requires that instruction at state universities be “nearly as free as possible,” according to Tuesday’s Arizona Daily Star. The judges, who largely reversed a lower-court decision to dismiss the case, said that the courts should be allowed to rule on the merits of the students’ lawsuit and to determine whether the Arizona Board of Regents, which sets tuition at the universities, has been complying with the constitutional requirement.

A spokesman for the regents told the newspaper that they might appeal the decision to the state’s Supreme Court.

The lawsuit originated in 2003, when four students at Arizona universities sought a refund from the state after their tuitions rose by more than 39 percent.