TOPEKA ? A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit challenging a year-old state law that gives some illegal immigrants a break on tuition at state universities, community colleges and vocational colleges.

The law says illegal immigrants can qualify for lower tuition rates reserved for Kansas residents if they have attended a Kansas high school for at least three years and have graduated or earned a general education development certificate in Kansas. Also, they must actively be seeking legal immigration status or plan to do so when they are eligible.

Challenging the law were six parents and 18 students who were residents of other states but were attending Kansas institutions and paid higher rates.

The difference can be substantial. For example, state residents taking 15 hours of undergraduate classes at Kansas University pay $2,081 a semester in tuition, compared with $5,069 for non-Kansas residents.

But Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Rogers ruled the students had no standing to sue because they weren’t directly harmed by the law. Rogers said to have standing, a plaintiff must face an injury that is “concrete and imminent.”

“Hypothetical or conjectural harm is not sufficient,” the judge wrote in a 38-page opinion. “When a law does not apply to a party, that party has no invasion of a legally protected interest.”

Eight other states, including Oklahoma and Texas, have similar laws. Supporters of Kansas’ law had worried that if it were struck down, other states’ statutes could be in jeopardy.

The plaintiffs’ case was being funded by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which is opposed to lax immigration policies and supports tightening the nation’s borders. The American Civil Liberties Union was involved in defending the law.

Supporters of the Kansas law argue that many immigrants affected by it have attended school or lived in Kansas for years. They also contend many have younger siblings who are citizens because they were born in the United States, and many speak only English.

Critics contend the law rewards individuals and families who are violating federal immigration laws. Some students who sued the state have said it’s unfair to give the tuition break to illegal immigrants but not to legal residents of other states.

Those critics also said two federal laws enacted in 1996 were designed by Congress to prevent states from enacting such tuition breaks for illegal immigrants.