Lawyers for the Board of Regents told a judge Friday that Attorney General Mark Brnovich has no legal right to challenge the tuition it sets for the state's three universities -- or even the policies used to come up with those numbers.

The bill, H2028, requires college and university students undergoing disciplinary proceedings involving an allegation of a crime to be represented by a lawyer. If the student can’t afford one, the bill mandates the college or university to provide the student with legal counsel.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued a legal opinion December 7 saying that, with only narrow exceptions, the Legislature has “unrestricted’’ authority to redefine the powers and duties of the Arizona Board of Regents.

The head of the state Board of Regents said Monday that a new lawsuit over tuition could finally force the legislature to explain whether it is violating a constitutional provision to keep instruction at the universities "as nearly free as possible.''

State support for students at Arizona’s three public universities has fallen by 53.8 percent since 2008, more than three times the national decline over the same period, according to a new report.

After months of deliberation, state universities are aiming to admit 200 students in the fall 2017 semester to the Arizona Teacher Academy, a teacher-training program with free tuition.

Dreamers at the state’s three universities will continue paying the same tuition as other Arizona residents, at least for the time being.

Arizona regents meet Thursday to decide what how much more dreamers attending the state's three universities will have to pay in tuition this fall.

Regents and lawmakers alike expect the June 18 resignation of the Arizona Board of Regents’ chairman can heal any lingering wounds between them, though Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, who is at the center of the controversy, said the resignation changes nothing.

Those of us who have been in the policy mix a long time noticed something different this year. For the first time since I can remember, advocates for public K-12 education openly opposed higher education funding.