2. a. In the event that an eligible student borrower under the NJCLASS Loan Program becomes totally and permanently disabled, the authority shall fully discharge the obligation of the student borrower and a parent or guardian who cosigned the loan. To qualify for the loan discharge the student borrower shall provide the authority with a written statement from a physician, who is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy and is legally authorized to practice, certifying that the student borrower is totally and permanently disabled.
b. As used in this section, "totally and permanently disabled" means the condition of a student borrower who is unable to work and earn money or attend school because of an injury or illness that is expected to continue indefinitely or result in death. A student borrower shall be considered totally and permanently disabled even if the student borrower continues to receive an equal or greater amount of income from the source of income that was used to meet the minimum income requirements at the time the loan was approved.