Back-To-School Discussion Hosted By Trump, Pence: Replay

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump hosted a closed discussion on the return to school nationwide at the White House on Wednesday. The White House said he will talk about the return to school plan amid the coronavirus pandemic. The discussion, titled "President Trump Participates in Kids First: Getting America's Children Safely Back to School," was co-hosted by Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

A number of other speakers, some parents and a few school officials, also made statements in favor of sending kids back to school.

Trump has for months now been a proponent of sending children back to in-person school this fall despite coronavirus case numbers continuing to rise across much of the United States. In July, he launched an all-out effort to get kids back into the classroom.

"We want to reopen the schools. Everybody wants it. The moms want it, the dads want it, the kids want it. It's time to do it," he said on July 7. "We're very much gong to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools."

An ongoing survey conducted by New York-based Burbio.com shows about 52 percent of K-12 public school students in the country are set to begin the upcoming school year remotely, while only 25 percent are on track to return to the classroom on a daily basis.

Watch a replay of the news briefing in the video player above or on the White House YouTube channel.

Trump said he will have his regular daily coronavirus briefing at 5:30 p.m.