The Cuyahoga County College Savings Account program is being created with more than 10,000 savings accounts, each with a $100 deposit.
The accounts are for kindergarten students enrolled in the county's public schools.
Families are encouraged to invest more funds to the accounts over the years, and students will only be able to tap into the money to pay for their higher education plans.
County executive Ed FitzGerald said he hopes the program will encourage more financial responsibility for students and families as they look towards the future.
"Just the fact they have that account and it's not just somebody preaching to them, or telling them they should do this," FitzGerald said at a press conference at Cleveland's Campus International School. "But it's something real, it's something tangible. They can look up these accounts and see what kind of progress they're making. That's so important."
The deposit money comes from a $2 million budget request approved by Cuyahoga County's council last year.
Under the program, new accounts will be opened annually for each student enrolled in a public kindergarten by October 31 of the current school year, and parents can choose to opt out.