The bill sponsored by state Rep. John Freeman (D-Madison Heights) would require most inmates to earn a high school diploma or its equivalent while in prison to qualify for parole.
Supporters say lack of education is a key cause of crime.
"Education is a keystone to prisoners re-entering society and having solid futures," said Carl Taylor, a Michigan State University criminologist. "We simply cannot afford any more ignorant folks in this society."
Some say the law is unfair and could cause further prison overcrowding.
"I recognize education is an important component in rehabilitation. But we shouldn't tie the Parole Board's hands," said state Sen. Bill Van Regenmorter (R-Hudsonville), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"It might mean that prisoners the board deems safe to re-enter society but who failed to get a high school diploma can't get out. In those cases, they'd be taking up bed space that could be used to house murderers and rapists."
Beth Arnovits, executive director of the Lansing-based Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency, said the bill should be amended to require the hiring of an independent monitor to "make sure the bill is not being used to deny parole."
Freeman's measure states that a "prisoner whose minimum term of imprisonment is two years or more shall not be released on parole unless he or she has either earned a high school diploma or its equivalent in the form of a General Education Development certificate."
Almost 90 percent of the state's 40,916 inmates are serving sentences of at least two years, according to the Department of Corrections.
The bill would let the department waive the requirement for inmates with learning disabilities or who aren't proficient in English. It also would require English instruction for prisoners unskilled in the language so they could begin working toward a GED.
The average Michigan inmate has a 10th-grade education, according to a January report by the corrections department.
According to the report, only 20 percent of inmates have graduated from high school and only 6 percent have attended college.
The data also found four in five have no skills and were jobless at the time of their conviction.
Corrections spokeswoman Gail Light said taxpayers will spend $26 million on inmates' education this fiscal year, encompassing high school, vocational, GED and college courses.
In 1995, 1,632 prisoners obtained GEDs, and 1,838 earned the certificate in 1996, Ms. Light said. More than 1,000 have received GEDs this budget year, which ends Sept. 30, she said.
Budget analysts didn't have any information on how much Freeman's bill would cost taxpayers. The bill was scheduled for debate on the House floor today.