A senior Tory MP will attempt to force ministers to get Parliament's approval to shut schools in any future Covid lockdowns.
Education Committee chairman Robert Halfon warned that school closures had "wielded a hammer blow" to pupils' education, which had an "apocalyptic" effect on their futures.
Pupils have missed 115 days of school on average since the start of the pandemic, with teachers and campaigners warning of an increasing attainment gap between richer and poorer students.
The Harlow MP will introduce a bill on Wednesday to define schools as vital infrastructure like hospitals, food shops and power stations, and give MPs a vote on any future closures.
The Education Secretary would be required to ask MPs to extend school closures every three weeks under the terms of the bill.
Mr Halfon said: "Whilst national lockdowns were important to protect the health of the public, school closures have been nothing short of a disaster for our children.
"These closures wielded a hammer blow for students' education and wellbeing.
"Their effect was apocalyptic, threatening the futures of millions of pupils and students and stopping them climbing the ladder of opportunity."
The backbench bill will be heard in Parliament today - but it stands little chance of becoming law without Government backing.
Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza backed the plans, saying: "There is nowhere better for children to be than in the classroom.
"Teachers and schools did amazing things to support children in the last year, but the virtual environment is a shadow of the real thing."
But teaching unions were more sceptical.
Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "No-one wants to see any further school closures. School leaders have seen first-hand the impact that Covid lockdowns had on the learning and wellbeing of their pupils and they have been working tirelessly to support children since day one of the pandemic.
"But this Bill misses the point. Rather than thinking about political mechanisms to prevent school closures, we need the government to do far more to help keep classes open."
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "We support the idea of defining schools and other education settings as 'essential infrastructure' and doing everything possible to keep them open during times of national emergency.
"However, this would obviously have to take into account public health advice in any future emergency and it must be accompanied by a commitment from the Government and from Parliament to provide education settings with sufficient support."
It comes as new figures show the number of children out of school due to coronavirus in England rose to nearly a quarter of a million in the week before half-term.
The DfE estimates that 3.2% of all pupils - around 248,000 children - were not in class for Covid-related reasons on October 21.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: "We acted swiftly during the pandemic to minimise the impact on children's education and wellbeing and help keep pupils in face-to-face education as much as possible.
"Protecting face-to-face learning continues to be an absolute priority. We are now at a different stage in our response to the pandemic thanks to the overwhelming success of the vaccination programme, and there are no plans for schools to close again."