NewsOne focuses in March 2017 on the steep uphill climb of Black girls in the K-12 public school system.

Several education news stories in 2016 impacted the African-American community. Black educators reached new heights and the community debated school choice.

A Missouri law sparks concerns over felony charges for school fights. It could impact students of color disproportionately.

One of the Spring Valley High School students arrested last year is raising awareness about girls in the school-to-prison pipeline. Niya Kenny has graduated and now interns for a social justice nonprofit.

The Department of Justice announced that it will phase out its use of private prisons. There's no need for them with the declining population of federal prisoners.

The Department of Justice and a South Carolina sheriff's department reach an agreement on police involvement in student discipline. Meanwhile the ACLU files a lawsuit against the state's vaguely worded statutes blamed for filling the school to prison pipeline.

Baltimore County public schools are exploring ways to reduce suspensions for students of color. Hundreds of educators attended a two-day conference to find solutions.

St. Louis school officials announced a ban against automatic out-of-school suspensions of students in preschool through second grade. This move follows a report that said Missouri leads the nation in suspending Black elementary school students.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed spending $2 billion on alternatives to traditional school punishment. Her plan, and other alternatives like restorative justice, seek to end the school-to-prison pipeline.

National

The increasing number of preschoolers being suspended and the frequency of their punishment across the nation has unearthed a "troubling racial skew."

NewsOne’s Top 5 gives you a quick rundown of the viral stories we’re talking about today. Spring Valley Student Injured In Attack By Cop, Lives…

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is donating $4.7 million to eight organizations in New Orleans and two coalitions in Mississippi devoted to uplifting young men and…