A Queens teenager who was suspended from school for wearing a T-shirt that said "Barbie is a Lesbian" was awarded $30,000 in a settlement with the city, her lawyer announced Thursday.Natalie Young, now 15, won the settlement for the emotional pain and suffering she endured stemming from an incident on April 10, 2002, at MS 210 in Ozone Park.

Natalie, a lesbian, wore the shirt that day and was taken out of class by the school's principal because she refused to change it.

The teen, who lives in Ozone Park, was suspended for the day and threatened with further action if she wore the shirt again.

"There was nothing wrong with it," Natalie, wearing a white T-shirt, recalled yesterday. "I shouldn't have to change because somebody thinks there's something wrong it."

The harassment went beyond the Barbie T-shirt, said Natalie's attorney Ronald Kuby. The teenager had worn rainbow-colored beads as a symbol of gay pride and was forced to remove them.

"It was a culmination of a lot of harassment at that school," Kuby said at a news conference yesterday, "because of her sexual orientation."

The Department of Education did not have a dress code policy prior to the lawsuit, Kuby added.

Students in the city can now wear political-charged attire, providing the clothing is not libelous, obscene or causes substantial disorder, among other things.

"We believe that resolving this suit without protracted litigation is the appropriate decision. The settlement was inclusive of attorney's fees," said Donna M. Kasbohm, the city's assistant corporation counsel.

Two-thirds of the settlement will go toward a college fund for Natalie, who is now a sophomore at John Adams High School in Ozone Park. Natalie, a forward for the school's basketball team, would like to join the Lady Huskies at the University of Connecticut.

The other third of the settlement, Kuby said, will cover lawyer's expenses and go to groups that support gay and lesbian causes.