Initiating Advancements to Elder Prior to 18th Birthday

Hello-
I'm a Stake Assistant Clerk . . . .
It seems like something has changed in leader and clerk resources with regard to Bishops submitting a name for advancement prior to their 18th Birthday. We used to get those sometimes. Of course, the ordination and recording of it could not take place until their 18th birthday, and that was clearly shown on the Priesthood advancements page, where "Eligible" reflected whether they'd currently reached their 18th birthday.
One of the Bishops in the Stake this past weekend said that the system would not let him submit the name of a 17 year old to the stake (to start the process at the Stake Level). He's about 8 weeks away from his 18th birthday.
If it's changed, that's fine, just want to make sure the Bishop's inability to submit the name is intentional. Sometimes we'll have someone leaving on a mission pretty close to their 18th birthday, and it really helps to be able to start to process of advancement to Elder earlier.
Thank you to anyone who knows the answer.

The bishop can submit a recommendation for Melchizedek Priesthood ordination two months before the member's 18th birthday.

That's nice. Where is the "button" or link to generate the recommendation?

Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR) Procedures
Ward Procedures
Click the Ordinances link under the Membership tab, or click here to go to the Ordinances page in LCR.
Select Priesthood Ordination from the drop-down menu, enter the name of the member to be ordained, and print the Melchizedek Priesthood Ordination Record.
After the bishop interviews the person and signs the form, the ward clerk enters the interview date in LCR, checks the box verifying that the bishop has found the person worthy, and clicks the Submit to Stake button. An email will be sent to the stake president, stake executive secretary, and stake clerk to inform them of the recommendation. It is not necessary to send the paper copy of the Melchizedek Priesthood Ordination Record to the stake.