Think the poor economy is the reason kids are missing out on school trips? Nope. According to a recent article in The Bakersfield Californian, high school students are missing out on both athletic and academic trips. John Teves, Kern High School District spokesman said that the district is just trying to reduce costs of student travel and…potential liability claims. This is because there have been too many lawsuits filed for ridiculous reasons, costing the district (make that the taxpayers) a lot of money. So the administration at the largest high school district in the country has decided they must ban most trips out of fear of being sued. Students who have worked extremely hard in their studies and/or athletic endeavors are essentially being punished because of excessive lawsuits.