Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector photo by: Associated Press The Kansas senate debates Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 at the statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP) Topeka — The Kansas Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would greatly expand a tax credit program for private school scholarships, with Republican legislators batting away several intraparty dissenters and suggested amendments in a lengthy debate. The program that the bill would affect uses tax credits to reimburse donations that fund scholarships for private schools — up to a 70% reimbursement of a maximum $500,000 donation. But currently, it only applies to scholarships for students who are eligible for free lunch and attend one of the hundred lowest-performing elementary schools in Kansas. Right now, the program serves about 600 students.