FRESNO, Calif. - A California school district sued by a former sixth-grade student who was asked to remove an anti-abortion T-shirt has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the suit.

Attorneys for Tiffany Amador said Friday that officials at Merced's McSwain Union Elementary School called the T-shirt disruptive when she wore it in April 2008.

The shirt showed pictures of an apparent fetus and said "ABORTION: growing... growing... gone."

Los Angeles attorney William Becker says the resolution amounted to a victory for free speech rights in schools.

But Anthony DeMaria, the school district's attorney, says the settlement helped avoid a costly trial. The district admitted no wrongdoing.

McSwain implemented a new dress code policy this school year that prohibits most graphic T-shirts.