BELLEVUE, Wash. – A Washington teacher who was caught drunk at school and fired as a result is suing his former employer on the grounds that being intoxicated at school is not illegal and he deserves a second chance.

Erik Schock, a physical education teacher at Chinook Elementary School in Bellevue, allegedly reported to work drunk in February, lied about how much he had to drink, and was eventually fired when a toxicologist estimated his blood-alcohol level at .15, nearly twice the legal limit to drive, Fox reports.

“That’s definitely grounds to be let go,” parent Hugh Labossier told the television station.

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School officials obviously agreed.

The assistant principal at Chinook reportedly smelled alcohol on Schock’s breath and witnessed the teacher’s slurred speech. Schock’s condition prompted school officials to question him and test his blood-alcohol level.

“According to a report detailing the allegations, a toxicologist estimated that Schock’s blood-alcohol level would likely have been around .15 when school started that morning …,” Fox reports.

The Huffington Post reports Schock initially claimed he consumed three glasses of beer with dinner the previous evening, but later said he had actually had nine beers. Even nine beers seems like a gross underestimation, considering the teacher’s blood-alcohol level registered .05 at 2 p.m. the next day.

The teacher now acknowledges the fact that he came to school drunk, and he lied about how much alcohol he consumed. Schock contends that being drunk at school isn’t against the law. He’s suing his former school district for wrongful termination to get his job back, claiming the experience was a “wake-up call” and he “deserves a second chance,” according to Fox.

“… Schock filed a suit in King County Superior Court (in September), claiming the district did not have sufficient cause to terminate him,” the television station reports. “He argues his conduct is not ‘flagrant misconduct’ (as defined by state law) and the appropriate response should have been counseling or other assistance.”

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School officials wouldn’t comment on the pending lawsuit, but a retired judge who reviewed the case in August pointed out the obvious problem with Schock’s case. Whether or not the former teacher receives treatment for alcohol abuse, “students in the district should not have to run the risk that he will have one or more repetitions of the same behavior,” the judge said, according to Fox.

Parents in the district seem to agree.

“I would have sent him home, have him driven home,” Labossier said. “Then we would talk about whether he needs some sort of help, but he would not have been allowed back to work.”

“Most schools are no tolerance. No tolerance drugs or alcohol,” parent Julie Davis told Fox. “So I think in that profession, no, there’s no tolerance. There are no more chances.”

The news report does not state whether Schock is represented by a teachers union attorney or if he’s covering the cost of the case himself.