LANSING (AP) - The Michigan Department of Education is researching the possibility of raising mandatory graduation requirements for high school students, the state's schools chief said yesterday.

Michigan's K-12 schools must improve their graduation rates and have more rigorous requirements for students, state superintendent Mike Flanagan told the Senate Education Committee.

But it remains to be seen exactly what role the state might play in pushing local school districts to adopt tougher, more uniform graduation standards.

Graduation requirements now are decided by local school boards. The only state requirement is a semester of civics.

"I'm leaning much more in thinking we need to have a voice in this at the state level," Flanagan said of graduation requirements.

Several states set more exact graduation standards for math, science and language than does Michigan. High standards are needed to better prepare students for jobs and college, said Flanagan, who was hired by the State Board of Education in May.

"We want to participate with you in the process of turning our schools around - not just our public schools, but all our schools," Senate Education Committee Chairman Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland) told Flanagan during the hearing.

Afterwards, Kuipers said the concept of the state establishing mandatory requirements for graduation would be subject to debate because of Michigan's tradition of local control over schools.

"I don't know where we end up on that issue," he said.

Flanagan replaced Tom Watkins, who resigned as schools chief after a public feud with Gov. Jennifer Granholm over his leadership.

Flanagan, former leader of the Lansing-based Michigan Association of School Administrators, was Granholm's favorite for the job. He served as Granholm's education adviser early in her administration before returning to the schools association.

He also is a former superintendent of the Wayne County intermediate school district and Farmington-Farmington Hills schools.