I think we have a solution

The county we live in offers a “virtual school.” It offers full-time enrollment to students in grades K-12. Virtual learning provides flexibility of time and location and offers the opportunity to earn a standard high school diploma entirely online. BVS teachers and guidance counselors live locally. As a public school, it does not charge tuition fees. Also, it offers traditional face to face extracurricular activities to provide students with opportunities to collaborate with their teachers and classmates.

This should give the boy the flexibility to travel and work from here or NC when he wants to visit. He can work his schedule around times when he isn’t feeling well. (Although I hope that will disappear once he is happier). And he can have some peer interaction without the things he doesn’t like about his current school.

Application for the next semester opens December 1, he meets all the criteria, and they have no cap on the number of students they can accept. I really hope this solution works, because I can’t think of anything else that will be (relatively) quick, not expensive, and keep our family intact.