The main reason for the establishment of American-Sponsored Overseas Schools (ASOS) was to offer the dependents of Americans living abroad educational opportunities similar to what was available at home. ASOS have several general characteristics, including being privately controlled, nonprofit, nonsectarian, and American or binational in character. Changing enrollment, professional turnover, a high degree of autonomy, and shifting funding patterns have affected the ability of ASOS to use rational planning. The most serious problems in the ASOS planning base are a lack of information about relative school status, lack of clear direction, and lack of a designated strategy. The concluding section examines the applicability of several major planning models to problems faced by ASOS in Latin America. (16 references) (EJS)