The president of the Secondary Principals' Association was on Wednesday reduced to tears saying the National Party shouldn't be focusing on banning mobile phones in schools, but vapes.
The emotional Papatoetoe High School principal Vaughan Couillault said that vaping was "killing our babies".
Luxon spent some of the day with babies and their parents. He wants the babies to grow up in phone-free schools
"We want to make it crystal clear to everyone in primary, intermediate and secondary schools, we want no distractions in the classroom," he said.
Following the lead of the UN's education, science and culture agency, which last month recommended smartphones be banned from schools, Luxon announced the policy on Wednesday.
"We are really determined to do everything we can to remove distractions from kids so they can focus on learning and teachers can focus on teaching."
But the head of the Secondary Principals' Association, Vaughan Couillault, said there's actually a bigger problem.
"Vaping is killing our babies."
He wants the Government to be focused on vapes.
"Vaping is killing our kids and we're doing nothing about it. What we're doing is lightweight. There are kids addicted to vapes and we want to spend time and money - millions of dollars it will cost for this legislation - to get them to not use a phone in class that they're already not using. I mean it's just shortsighted."
Luxon said he didn't believe New Zealand has got its setting right around vapes.
"I'm up for a broader conversation about that in due course."
Principals are split over the phone ban plan.
The principal at Mt Albert Grammar praised it, saying it was, "very welcome."
But Couillault is less enthusiastic.
"I don't need legislation to do that. We're already doing it."
He said it's the National Party muscling in on schools' autonomy. He said it feels slightly nanny state.
Luxon rejects that.
Labour's Chris Hipkins said schools don't "need Christopher Luxon's permission to do that. Many schools do that already".
