Anyone who cares about their kids and hasn’t left the facist Republic of California already, really needs their heads examined.
Stupid headline alert.
There's nothing here that subjects 166,000 familes to criminal sanctions.
If parents filed the required paperwork for homeschooling their children (e.g., the Letter of Intent to Homeschool and Summary of Curriculum), then under CA law the kids are considered "enrolled" in school---their homeschool.
From this, the only people subject to criminal sanctions are those who did nothing to comply with "enrollment" laws (see above). As in most states, all children who are not "enrolled" in school---whether it be public school or homeschool or whatever---are truants and the parents are legally liable for that fact.