LOS ANGELES — This week, America’s largest public school district — New York City — finally lifted its COVID-19 mask mandate, allowing K-12 students to choose whether they want to cover their faces in class.

Meanwhile, America’s second-largest public school district — Los Angeles — seems likely to require masks for the rest of the school year.

The reluctance from Los Angeles Unified School District to relax its universal indoor masking measures even as Omicron numbers plummet leaves it out of step not only with New York City but with the rest of the country as well — including the state of California and even Los Angeles County itself, which includes