How lucky that you will get to meet Dr. Greene in person. Thank him for me LOL--he saved my sanity and my kid's too.
If you are set on homeschooling, then whatI have to say is irrelevant. If not, or if difficult child comes back to public school, make sure he is protected by an IEP. Zero tolerance is getting worse and he sounds like the sort of child who might be set up to repeat something that could be taken out of context and used against him. Without an IEP, he could be suspended or expelled. With one, and a determined parent, he cannot be.
I considered homeschooling when my difficult child was younger than yours--in part because he was being bullied. I didn't do it because "everyone" said it would make his immaturity and anxiety worse and he was already too dependent upon me. However, we will never know if that is true because I didn't do it. Also, it sounds as though you have really good resources for homeshcooling that were not available to me 12 to 15 years ago.
Please let us know how the meeting at the schools goes. When you get back, I'd love to hear about the conference and Dr. Greene.
Martie
