Forcing a Child to Change Schools?

I think your friend and the schools need some defintions here. What's "mild" to someone who specializes in autism can be "profound" to a regular classroom teacher. They also need to define "social." The child you are describing could range from a little annoying (totally managable in a standard K classroom) to very disruptive.

Usually I stand with parents on matters of this type, but I do think there needs to be communication involved. Is the school trying to tell her that her child is worse off than she thinks? If so, they need to show documentation-- here is what normal children do, this is what your child does.