You may want to reach out to the district level administration and your principal. Counselors in the schools have limited power to move outside the box and are often wrong. I personally have gotten approval from the gifted coordinator in our county for public school related course acceleration and gone through principals. It was not without a fight most of the time but I didn't stop until I got a yes and sometimes that meant going direct to the district heads or state level. I have been willing and have walked from schools to get what I need for my kids. I even pulled one out as a Homeschool student for one year to get what I needed done. I have been successful getting this done at a private school here in Georgia as well. Most people are surprised at the inroads I have gotten because you will be told 10 different reasons it can't be done before you will get to yes. Someone exists in the system to help you and if not find a different school. If you believe it and want it for your kids you need to pursue your plan at all costs.
My youngest (rising 3rd grader) is taking a 4th grade math for credit through an online accredited school (Laurel Springs Academy) and his private school will allow him to enter for 5th grade math next year. His test scores supported this and we/he was willing to do summer school for the acceleration. This is his first year of online summer school. However, his private school starts 18 month math in 1st grade so the kids are already accelerating quite rapidly allowing them to be at PreCalc or Calc as a freshman in HS.
My daughter through her public gifted charter school was granted by her principal and the gifted coordinator at the district to take 5th science this summer and enter next year in 6th science as a rising 5th grader. She is already a year ahead in math so will split the day between 5th and 6th grade. We are responsible for transportation the following year when she is splitting 6th grade and 7th grade classes between 2 campuses. Logistics are tough so you have to be willing to manage that.
My 7th grader was just grade skipped to 9th for next year. He has been taking summer school for acceleration and high school credit for the last couple of years. He also took 2 classes at the high school this year for HS credit as a 7th grader. It was approved by the principal of his middle school and the gifted coordinator at the district. Even with the grade skip he will enter HS next year with 4 HS classes completed. There were no limitations on subject level acceleration. His test scores and grades supported our requests for summer acceleration and once accelerated they don't limit them from the next sequential course (and credit) regardless of what grade they are in. Another words he has been getting HS credit for classes since the summer before 7th grade and nobody has raised any issues regarding that.
My oldest son (14) only attended the HS for one year and did one year of full time dual enrollment at the college. He will enter next month at Georgia Tech as a Junior for BME major. Most college courses he has taken for HS credit and college credit were paid for by the state under the GA dual enrollment program. He started HS classes in 6th grade for credit.
In GA they don't allow you to take AP courses for AP credit until 9th grade. We hand selected courses strategically so we could pull through the HS courses into middle school that were required but not AP. Freshman year then there are plenty of open spots for AP classes.
I did pay for summer school classes for credit through a range of online for credit institutions - Laurel Springs Academy, Georgia Virtual School, etc. Johns Hopkins, Stanford Online, Davidson Online are other choices. Not one of the schools my kids attended were willing to pay for summer programs for credit because it was at our choice and not required. About $500-1000 per class but it was worth it so they had something small to do over the summer and allow them to get further ahead. Classes generally require 1-2 hours a day of online work and don't interfere with vacation, camps or whatever else is going on because they can be done from anywhere at any time of day.
BTW: Getting to dual enrollment in HS provides a lot of benefits even if you decide to keep them in HS till they are 17. Potential to have 2 years of college done and paid for, opportunity to try many courses in HS that help your child decide their career path, an advantage in the college admissions process to show higher rigor and proof your child can perform already, etc.
I don't fully understand your circumstances or that of your friend but believe me there is a way to make this work the way you want it to. But you may have to change schools, homeschool, transport to other campuses during the day, fight with every person in the district or state, strategically lay out the course schedule, etc. until you get what you want. Just don't take No for an answer.
