§ 2733 — Jurisdiction; venue

(a) The Justice of the Peace Court and the Family Court shall have concurrent jurisdiction of complaints filed pursuant to this subchapter.

(b) All complaints under this subchapter shall be filed in a Justice of the Peace Court in the county where the school the child is required to attend is located or in the county in which the office of the school district which contains the child’s school is located.

(c) The matter shall proceed within the Justice of the Peace Court unless that Court determines, upon the complaint’s filing, that the matter shall be transferred to the Family Court due to the existence of any of the following conditions:

(1) Pending delinquency proceedings involving the child;

(2) Pending civil proceedings involving a determination of the child’s best interests pursuant to § 722 of Title 13;

(3) Pending proceedings with involvement by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families with the child’s family; or

(4) Any other condition exists related to the child that reasonably warrants transfer to Family Court.

(d) In the event that a student withdraws from school for any reason other than age and does not re-enroll in another public school, the Family Court or Justice of the Peace Court, in its discretion, may retain jurisdiction for the purpose of ensuring that the student’s alternative educational environment was not an attempt to avoid the compulsory attendance requirements of § 2702 of this title.

Legislative History

72 Del. Laws, c. 346, § 14 ; 76 Del. Laws, c. 23, § 4 ; 82 Del. Laws, c. 224, § 3