Illinois’s largest teachers union wants to intervene in a lawsuit brought by several Edwardsville-area teachers challenging the state’s vaccine-or-testing mandate for educators.

The Illinois Education Association and several other unions say the mandate is important to protect not only the health and safety of school employees and students, but also their family members.

The IEA says it believes Governor JB Pritzker’s mandate is “legal, prudent, and necessary” to protect everyone in the school setting.