Alison Dirr, Annysa Johnson and Genevieve Redsten:

Schools in the city of Milwaukee that have approved plans will be allowed to reopen in the fall under a new order the city’s Health Department expects to issue either this week or next.

Limits on capacity and a focus on ensuring that necessary accommodations are made for people who are high risk will be part of the order, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik said during a virtual news conference Tuesday.

The announcement comes after private school leaders and the advocacy group School Choice Wisconsin said they were blindsided after the city changed the metric for reopening, effectively barring them from returning to schools until the city reached Phase 5 of its reopening plan.

The confusion frustrated schools that had been investing time and money into ways to open safely and left parents with uncertainty weeks before schools began.